written by Derek Fleming
\Jackson State 26, Tennessee State 24
In the John A. Merritt Classic’s first trip back to Nashville in more than two decades, Jackson State survived a Tennessee State possession that reached the Jackson State 19 before stalling on fourth-and-17, holding on for a 26-24 win at FirstBank Stadium.
By Reno L. Thompson | Your Time Network
The late-summer air sat heavy above FirstBank Stadium, where Nashville’s night breathed in anticipation and old sound. Under the shadow of downtown, a crowd of 32,467 filled the bowl, alumni and families stretching across decades, drawn back for a rivalry the city had not hosted in more than two decades.
Tennessee State, home from Memphis for this year’s John A. Merritt Classic, met Jackson State at Vanderbilt’s stadium — ground this game occupied only because the Titans were hosting their own preseason finale across town at Nissan Stadium.
Watching from opposite sidelines were Reggie Barlow, in his second season leading Tennessee State, and T.C. Taylor, in his fourth leading Jackson State. Jackson State won the coin toss and deferred, sending Tennessee State’s offense out to open the night.
By the finish, Jackson State had done just enough to survive it. The Tigers from Jackson held on for a 26-24 win, a margin decided only when Tennessee State’s last possession stalled on fourth-and-17 at the Jackson State 19 with less than a minute to play.
Jackson State arrived carrying three straight wins in the series’ recent run at Memphis’s Southern Heritage Classic, and for a moment the pageantry of return outweighed the game in front of it. Tennessee State went three-and-out on its first possession, its offense playing behind first-year starter Daylin Lee, a transfer from Winston-Salem State new to this rivalry, still finding its footing.
The crowd got its first jolt from Jackson State. Quarterback Jared Lockhart, working from the shotgun, found receiver Jabari Jones open for an 88-yard touchdown, and the Tigers trailed 7-0 in the first quarter.
Tennessee State answered with patience. A drive built on short, controlled gains reached the goal line, and running back Brenton Paul punched it in from nine yards out, tying the game at 7. That set the tone for the first half — Tennessee State leaning into long, deliberate drives that kept Jackson State’s defense on the field.
A one-yard plunge from Daylin Lee gave the Tigers their first lead, 14-7, and a 45-yard field goal from Preston Hurless stretched the margin to 17-7. Jackson State answered before the break with a field goal of its own, and the teams went to the locker room with Tennessee State ahead, 17-10.
Nashville’s night changed shape in the third quarter. Jackson State’s offense, patient before the break, turned urgent, stringing together fast, unbroken drives. A 45-yard field goal cut the margin to four, then a drive that covered more than seven minutes of clock ended with Emari Matthews running it in from two yards out, putting Jackson State ahead, 20-17. A 51-yard field goal extended the lead to six as the third quarter closed.
Tennessee State had one more answer left. Early in the fourth quarter, Lee directed a drive that reached the goal line, and tight end Francisco Pratts III slipped into the flat for a five-yard touchdown catch, putting the Tigers back on top, 24-23.
Jackson State’s response took nearly six minutes off the clock — fifteen plays, seventy-seven yards — and ended with a 21-yard field goal that put the Tigers from Jackson back in front, 26-24, with 2:31 remaining. That set up the finish, and it did not go the way the moment seemed to be building toward.
“I was just trying to protect the ball and be smart and have a chance to win the game at the end of the day.”
— Daylin Lee, Quarterback
Lee found Guy often that night — nine catches for a team-high 148 yards, more than half of it on one 45-yard gain — and reached for him again on the last possession.
Tennessee State drove from its own 25 deep into Jackson State territory on completions to Cam Bulluck and Guy — Guy leaving the game shortly after his 24-yard catch to the Jackson State 12 — and reached the Jackson State 19.
But a delay-of-game penalty and a sack pushed the Tigers back to fourth-and-17, and rather than test the distance with a kick, the snap went instead to punter Truette Tumey, who tried to run it in himself and was stopped for a ten-yard loss.
Turnover on downs, 53 seconds left. Jackson State took a knee twice and let the clock run out: Jackson State 26, Tennessee State 24.
Afterward, Daylin Lee described the choice inside that final drive as a matter of ball security over ambition.
“I feel like I could have put that ball on Guy. He could have scored right there, but I was just trying to protect the ball and be smart and have a chance to win the game at the end of the day,” Lee said. “Even though we didn’t score that drive, I think we drove the ball really well. We had a lot of explosive plays that showed how good of an offense we can be.”
Reggie Barlow saw the same night in wider terms.
“We know what this game means and represents,” Tennessee State’s head coach said afterward.
Their goal on that final drive, he said, “was to go ahead and score,” and he pointed to his team’s willingness to keep pushing rather than play it safe — “we went for it a few times on 4th down.”
Of the group he watched come up one first down short, Barlow said simply: “We are proud of our team, the way they competed.”
Some of the crowd lingered as the bands played. Jackson State’s win extended its current hold on the rivalry to four straight, even as Tennessee State continues to lead the all-time series, 30-23-2.
Packed into that split — a rivalry Tennessee State still leads on the scoreboard of history but hasn’t solved lately — was the particular ache of a homecoming that waited more than two decades and arrived with an ending only this rivalry could have written.
By the Numbers
Final Score: Jackson State 26, Tennessee State 24
Halftime: Tennessee State 17, Jackson State 10
Daylin Lee (QB): 23-of-41, 265 pass yds, 1 TD; 40 rush yds, 1 rush TD
Jayden Guy (WR): 9 catches, 148 yds, long 45
Francisco Pratts III (TE): Go-ahead 5-yd TD catch, Q4
All-Time Series: Tennessee State leads, 30-23-2 (dating to 1949)
