Jackson Free Press

Losing stinks, but this weekend in college football ended up giving the whole state of Mississippi a giant punch to the gut. Every four-year college or university ended up losing this week.

If you are keeping score, that means the state went 0 for 10. All three FBS schools lost by a total of 14 points, all three FCS schools lost and two weren’t even close, both Division II schools lost by 10 or more points, and both Division III schools were blown out.

Our state’s bad week started on Thursday night when University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff upset two-time defending SWAC champions Alcorn State University 45-43. The Braves lost in triple overtime as they let the Golden Lions score two late touchdowns and convert two two-point conversions.

ASU had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed a 47-yard field goal. Both teams fumbled away the ball in their first overtime drives.

In the second overtime, both teams scored, and in the third overtime, the Braves found the end zone but missed on their two-point try. UAPB was able to score a touchdown and convert its two-point try to end the game.

The terrible week continued with Millsaps College and Belhaven University kicking off at 1 p.m. with Delta State University's 2 p.m. kickoff after. The Blazers never led in a 65-21 loss to Huntingdon College, and the Majors never led in a 35-16 loss to the University of Chicago.

The Statesmen jumped out to a 12-0 lead on the University of West Georgia but fell behind 13-12 at the half. DSU rallied late, but the Wolves held on for the 34-24 win.

Things kept getting worse in the afternoon. The University of Mississippi jumped out to a 24-3 lead on the University of Alabama.

The top-ranked Tide rallied to cut their deficit to 24-17 at the break. Alabama continued its comeback as it built an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter.

UM rallied to cut the Crimson Tide’s lead down to 48-43, as they scored two quick touchdowns and recovered an onside kick, with plenty of time left on the clock and three timeouts. Instead of going for another onside kick, the Rebels decided to kick the ball deep, and Alabama ran out the clock, winning the game 48-43.

After an 0-4 afternoon, the devastation continued into the night. Five teams kicked off early Saturday evening before the sun set.

Mississippi State University faced Louisiana State University in a game that saw the Tigers in control as they built a 23-3 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs held LSU scoreless in the second half and mounted a furious rally in the fourth quarter.

MSU kicked a field goal in the third quarter and scored two late touchdowns, cutting the LSU lead down to 23-20. The Tigers were able to run out the clock on the Bulldogs, holding on for the win.

Former Jackson Chamber of Commerce President Jonathan Lee and Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba will square off in two debates this week, ahead of the May 21 runoff election that will put one of the two men into the Jackson mayors office.

The first is set for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Old Capitol Inn, and will not be broadcast on television. The second is Friday, May 17, downtown at the Mississippi College School of Law at 7 p.m.

It will be interesting to see the two go at it - mainly because they've stayed away from each other in past forums and debates, both focusing their efforts on their own message and their mutual disappointment with the administration of current mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.

Parents for Public Schools of Jackson is also hosting a mayoral candidate forum on Sunday, May 19 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It will be held in the Community Room in the Jackson Medical Mall, and each candidate will present his educational platform and vision for public schools in the City of Jackson and answer questions from the audience. Parents, high school students and interested community members are encouraged to attend.

Last week, a Jackson Free Press blog post listed all the players who made all-conference in various leagues that have Mississippi teams. That list didn’t include the SWAC teams from Mississippi, or Belhaven University, as the Blazers are still transitioning to Division III and not eligible to win the conference title or make the playoffs at DIII.

The SWAC released its first and second team all-conference players, and Grambling State University and Southern University dominated the selections. GSU had 14 players and SU had 10 players make either first- or second-team All-SWAC.

It is not surprising that the Tigers and Jaguars are so well featured since both teams were two of the best in the SWAC this season. Grambling State won the SWAC title game and will represent the conference in the Celebration Bowl.

Even with all the Grambling and Southern players on both the first and second team, Alcorn State University and Jackson State University landed players on both teams with ASU’s six and JSU’s three.

The Braves had two offensive linemen make second-team All-SWAC. Senior Detonio Dade earned his fourth all-conference honors, and junior Timothy Gardner helped make the ASU offensive line one of the best in the nation in pass protection and rushing.

Alcorn State had four players make either first or second team on defense with two on each team. The Braves were represented on each level with two linebackers, one defensive lineman and one defensive back.

Senior linebackers Darien Anderson on the first-team and Michael Hurns on the second-team were honored. Anderson earned his second All-SWAC honors after being second team last season, and he ranks fourth in the FCS in sacks. Hurns finished the season with 62 tackles and three sacks, and he was elected as the Student Government Association’s senior class president.

Senior defensive back Eric Foster, who racked up 41 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble while being ranked in the top 10 in the conference in passes defended, earned first-team honors. Junior defensive end Michael Brooks landed the second team after posting 29 tackles on the season.

Jackson State had three players make all-conference teams with all three on defense. JSU had just one first-team player and two second-team players.

Senior Javancy Jones earned first-team honors at defensive end and second-team honors at linebacker. Jones was the Tigers’ pick for the 2016 Conerly Trophy and was a finalist for the award, as he finished third in the conference in tackles with 82, second in tackles for a loss with 19.5 and 12 in sacks with four.

Senior defensive backs Justin Jemison and Zavian Bingham earned second-team honors. Jemison finished with 46 tackles for fourth on the team, two interceptions and five passes defended. Bingham notched 41 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, one punt block and one pick returned for a touchdown.

Mississippi Valley State University didn’t land a player on either the first …

Three teams from our state made regionals in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Two of those teams, Mississippi State University and University of Mississippi, hosted regionals, and the University of Southern Mississippi traveled to the Tallahassee Regional.

By early Sunday afternoon, just one team was left standing. MSU lives to play this weekend while USM and UM saw their seasons end. In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of Mississippi’s regional action.

The Rebels might have had the two toughest losses in regional play last weekend. In its first game against the University of Utah, UM held a 5-2 lead after five innings.

At the top of the sixth inning, Utah scored three runs to tie the game at 5-5 after six full innings played. The score stayed tied as the game headed into extra innings.

Utah added a run at the top of the 10th inning to take a 6-5 lead. The Rebels got a base runner in their half of the 10th but failed to bring the runner home, giving Utah the 6-5 win.

That defeat sent UM to the losers’ bracket of the Oxford Regional. The Rebels would have needed a win against Tulane University to stay alive.

Things looked good for the Rebels against the Green Wave as they were up 5-4 heading into the top of ninth inning. All UM had to do was get three outs to keep its season going.

The Rebels got the first batter in the ninth to grounded out for the first out of the inning. Tulane earned a walk with its next batter to put the tying run on base.

The next Green Wave batter hit a two-run home run to left field, giving Tulane a 6-5 lead after the Rebels got two more outs. UM came to bat in the bottom of the ninth but could only manage one base runner before a fielder’s choice ended the game.

The loss ended the season for the Rebels. Boston College ended up winning the regional and will meet the University of Miami from Florida in the Super Regional.

Things started off well for Southern Miss in the Tallahassee Regional. The Golden Eagles began play against the University of South Alabama.

USM jumped to a 3-0 lead before exploding for 11 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 14-0 lead over the Jaguars. South Alabama scored two runs in the top of ninth, but the Golden Eagles won 14-2.

That set up a match against Florida State University in the winner's bracket. USM scored a 2-0 lead in the top of first inning, but FSU struck back with three runs in the bottom of the second inning.

The Seminoles tacked on four more runs to beat the Golden Eagles 7-2 and sent them to the loser’s bracket. USM would have needed to defeat South Alabama again to earn the right …

The University of Mississippi softball team didn’t show any signs of nerves despite hosting its first regional in program history. Playing at home in Oxford, the Rebels didn’t have any problems dispatching the other three teams in the tournament.

The Rebels opened the regional with an 8-0 win over the University of Southern Illinois. UM used its eight hits to score five runs in the second inning and three more runs in the fifth inning to close the game out.

Arizona State University tried to upset the Rebels, as the Sun Devils were able to keep UM off the scoreboard through five innings. In the bottom of the sixth inning, however, the Rebels hit two runs that proved to be the difference in their 2-0 win.

In the regional final, the University of North Carolina jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings but didn’t score again. UM tied the game with two runs in the top of the fourth inning and scored two more runs in the top of sixth inning. The Rebels added more insurance with another three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the Tar Heels couldn’t answer. UM pounded out 14 hits in its 7-2 win and advanced to the Super Regionals, which take place Thursday, May 25, through Sunday, May 28.

Next, UM will face the University of California, Los Angeles in a best-of-three series beginning May 25 and ending May 27, with the winner moving on to the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

After the weekend, only 16 of the 64 teams that made the Super Regionals will be left standing. The path to the Women’s College World Series has basically become the SEC-Pac-12 invitational, with those two conferences holding 13 of the final 16 spots.

The SEC put all 13 of its teams in the Super Regionals, and eight of those teams are still standing. Mississippi State University, the University of Missouri, the University of Arkansas, the University of Georgia and the University of South Carolina are the five teams eliminated from the tournament.

There were eight teams from the Pac-12, but the Oregon State University, Arizona State and the University of California, Berkeley have been eliminated. The only crashers at the SEC-Pac-12 party are the University of Oklahoma, Baylor University and Florida State University.

Two of the Super Regional matchups feature SEC teams against Pac-12 teams, as the University of Oregon hosts the University of Kentucky and the above-mentioned UCLA hosts UM. Two of the matchups feature two SEC teams going head to head, as the University of Florida hosts the University of Alabama, and the University of Tennessee hosts Texas A&M University. FSU will host Louisiana State University, and Auburn University will host Oklahoma to round out the rest of the SEC teams.

The Pac-12 will have two of its conference teams facing off, with the …