Rogelio V. Solis / Associated Press
Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders calls out to his players during the first half of an NCAA college football against Edward Waters in Jackson, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. The game marks Sanders’ collegiate head coaching debut.
Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021 | 5:55 p.m.
JACKSON, Miss.— Jalon Jones threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Jackson State rolled past NAIA Edward Waters 53-0 in Deion Sanders' coaching debut on Sunday.
Kymani Clarke scored two rushing touchdowns. Warren Newman showed some dazzling speed as a wideout and kick returner and caught a 6-yard pass from Jones for JSU's first score.
Jones completed 18 of 20 passes for 187 yards and TD passes to Newman, Daylen Baldwin and Christian Allen. JSU racked up 435 yards of total offense to Edward Waters 104.
After a week of rare freezing weather had many residents of Jackson waiting in long lines for bottled drinking water, the atmosphere among 12,000 fans sprinkled within Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium (44,215 capacity) was festive.
National Guard soldiers shot a cannon and did pushups after Jackson State scores, and Sanders, an NFL Hall-of-Famer, had a bucket of ice dumped over his head at the end of the game as the people in the stands cheered the win.
Jackson State dominated, scoring on its opening drive and adding two more touchdowns in 67 seconds, wrapped around an Edward Waters fumble on a kickoff, to end the first half 31-0.
Jackson State had elected to receive to open the second half and scored in just under three minutes after a 50-yard kickoff return set the Tigers up at Edward Waters 47.
It was Jackson State's first shutout since Sept. 6, 2014.
