Deion Sanders and Jackson State defeats Edward Waters, 53-0

Jackson State's head coach Deion Sanders pitched a 53-0 shutout in his first game in the college ranks. His offense came out in his debut and made a statement for the rest of the SWAC. Jackson State University football program is back and in control under Sanders' leadership.

FIRST HALF

EWC's first possession went three and out against JSU. Following the Edward Waters punt, Jackson State scored their first touchdown of the season in 6 plays on a 40-yard drive in 2:15 minutes. QB Jalon Jones used a pop-pass to RB Warren Newman for a 6-yard touchdown play. K Misiak kicked the extra point. JSU led 7-0 in Coach Prime's first score as a head coach.

Edward Waters failed on their next drive and had another three and out with 0 yards on three plays. JSU kicked a field goal on an 11-play and 50-yard possession to increase their lead 10-0 off K Glenn Misiak's 23-yard kick.

It was clear from the game's onset that Jackson State's offense was too fast of Edward Waters. Also, JSU's defense controlled the tempo against the EWC offense.

EWC offense did not record a first down in the first quarter and finally notched a first down in the second quarter. They only picked-up 2 first downs after running 22 offensive plays for 44 total yards in the first half.

On the other side, JSU's offense was extremely potent. Prime's squad had 16 first downs from 42 plays and 265 yards in their first half.

The special teams unit for JSU was led by their electric freshman RB Warren Newman who had 5 returns for 62 yards in the half.

The JSU Tigers scored 21 additional points before halftime. Jalon Jones rushed for a 6-yard touchdown with 1:07 left on the clock before halftime. But the ensuing kickoff, EWC's returner Davis fumbled with 55 seconds remaining.

JSU quickly took advantage of the football being in EWC's territory. Jones located Daylen Baldwin to the left in the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown.

JSU led 31-0 over Edwards Waters at halftime.

SECOND HALF

On their second half's opening drive, RB Kwani Clarke scored his second touchdown of the game on a 10-yard rush through the EWC defensive line. QB Jones' two-point conversion pass failed. The JSU offense went 7 plays for 47 yards in 2:56 minutes on the possession.

Leading 37-0, JSU's defense relaxed and allowed EWC's offense to move with scoring distance. Unfortunately, QB Roshard Branch threw an interception, and Jackson State took over the football.

Jackson State decided to rest QB Jalon Jones and allow their backup quarterback Quincy Casey to handle the offense. Jones had a 196.0 QBR before his 3rd quarter exit, but Coach Sanders returned his starter to the contest.

13:26 remaining in the game, Tigers running back Williams scored a 3-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 43-0. The extra point try fell short.

Studfield returned an EWC punt within the 10-yard line, which led to a 26-yard field goal for a 46-0 score.

On the next play, JSU squib-kicked the football, and EWC's returner could not pick up the ball before a JSU defender recovered. JSU Tigers' QB Casey quickly hooked up with Christian Allen in the back of the endzone with a tremendous catch.

JSU was dominating EWC and won 53-0 in the HBCU tilt.

Jackson State was the more talented team over NAIA's Edward Waters. Deion Sanders' players were well prepared. Although they won, JSU fumbled three times in the game that could have been costly against a more competitive team.

The JSU special team's personnel were fantastic most of the day. Two infractions will cause Coach Prime to be disliking their overall dominance. First, a holding call negated a long punt return in the 3rd quarter. Second, a roughing the punter penalty helped to extend an EWC drive fourth-quarter drive.

JSU's freshman RB Warren Newman was the Offensive Player of the Game, and DT Crain was the Defensive Player of the Game in the first win of 2021.