First-year head coach Mickey Joseph did not hold back when discussing his team’s performance against Tuskegee this past weekend. The Tigers won the game 37-20, a contest that began with a promising lead. But Tuskegee saw success scoring the ball in the second half, which Joseph wasn’t a fan of

Matt Belinson of the Ruston Leader first reported Joseph’s critique, saying, “I thought they played well for maybe 20 minutes out of the 60. We were clean for 20 minutes. The other 40, we were bad,” Joseph said.

On Tuskegee’s first drive, quarterback Chris Roberson’s pass was intercepted by Brendon Barley, shifting momentum to Grambling State. With favorable field position, quarterback Myles Crawley connected with Cavadis Knighton for the first touchdown. Crawley finished with 304 passing yards, completing 16 of 26 passes.

Javon Robinson led the Tigers receiving core with 151 yards and a touchdown. Nick Howard and Tony Phillips also scored touchdowns for Grambling. Tre Bradford, Deljay Bailey, and Ke’Travion Hargrove combined for 116 of the Tigers’ 119 rushing yards.

Grambling led Tuskegee 37-3 at halftime, but the second half saw a shift as the Tigers defense allowed 17 points while Tuskegee shut out Grambling.

Despite two interceptions, Roberson passed for 193 yards, completing 13 of 28 attempts. Backup quarterback Raequan Beal added 77 yards and a touchdown on 7-of-9 passing. Roberson also contributed 58 rushing yards, while running back Johnny Morris added 59 yards and a touchdown.

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Rodricus Magee was the lone receiver to score a touchdown but ranked third in receiving yards behind Reggie Brigman 55 yards on four receptions and Gabriel Garmon 116 yards on five receptions. The Golden Tigers ended with 380 total yards.

Joseph expressed frustration with his team’s defensive performance and the penalties in the second half. “We had 16 penalties for 166 yards. That’s terrible. We can’t revert to foolishness, and that’s what we did. I need to do a better job as head coach, and I will. My assistants need to do a better job, and we’ll clean that up,” he said.

The Tigers will face Texas A&M University-Commerce this Saturday at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee will seek their first win of the season against Savannah State in their home opener on Sept. 21 following their bye week.