The Grambling State Tigers rolled past the Central State Marauders 48-26 Saturday night at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.
Grambling State improved to 2-0. Central State, a member of the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, dropped to 0-2.
The Tigers started fast and led 20-0 after D’Shaun Ford’s 2-yard touchdown run and Diego Alfaro’s PAT with 8:20 left in the second quarter. Alfaro kicked field goals of 19 and 24 yards in the first quarter.
Central State got on the board on a Kenyon Gardner 41-yard field goal with 4:58 left in the half. The Tigers’ Tony Phillips Jr. ran 75 yards for a touchdown on the second play after the kickoff.
The Marauders scored on a 12-yard pass from Jackson Wasik to Damon Griffin Jr. and Grambling State led 27-10 at the half,
The closest Central State got in the second half was 41-26 with 4:47 left in the game. The Tigers scored with 31 seconds left for the final margin.
GSU rolled up a massive 644 total yards (361 rushing, 283 passing).
Reginald Johnson completed 18-of-23 passes for 258 yards. Tyson George had five catches for 93 yards, including a 50-yard reception. Jordan Brice had three for 70, including a 43-yard catch.
Four Tigers rushed for 48 or more yards. Thanks to his TD run, Phillips finished with 73 on just two carries. Jamarion Parker, who scored the game’s first touchdown on a 40-yard run, had 68 yards on five carries.
Byron Eaton Jr. had 61 on three, including a 58-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Zerrick Jones had 48 on three. Hayden Benoit also scored on a 1-yard run.
The Tigers averaged 9.0 yards per rush on 40 attempts.
Central State had 386 total yards (138 rushing, 238 passing).
Lonnell Cunningham led the GSU defense with seven total tackles. Marcellius Johnson had five catches.
Grambling State takes a big step up in competition next Saturday against TCU in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs (0-1) did not play Saturday.