Midwestern State junior Keidrick Jackson erupted for a career-high 193 yards
with three second-half scores to lift the 18th-ranked Mustangs to a 42-27
come-from-behind win over No. 18 West Alabama Thursday night at Tiger
Stadium in Livingston.
Senior quarterback Brandon Kelsey added 117 rushing yards and
three touchdowns as MSU shredded the nation's No. 7 defense for 414 total yards
including 348 on the ground.
"I can't tell you how excited I am about
this football team," MSU coach Bill Maskill said. "This team is growing up and
maturing. We practiced that way on Tuesday and I was encouraged by the way we
played tonight. This was a really big win against a very good football team.
This might have been the best win we've had since I've been at
Midwestern."
West Alabama took advantage of a pair turnovers and a couple
of critical penalties, then scored 10 points in the final minute of the first
half to take a 24-14 halftime lead.
"We were just helping them have
success," Maskill said. "I told them (at halftime) if we go out and do what we
coach them to do and can do, we will be all right. We didn't give them any help
in the second half."
It was all Mustangs in the second half outscoring
the Tigers 28-3.
Jackson played a key role gaining 129 yards after the
intermission, but it was the play of safety Taiyon Jackson that turned the tide
for the Mustangs.
The junior from Bakersfield, Calif. smacked West
Alabama quarterback Gary Johnston on a third-and-1 play forcing a fumble which
was recovered by senior Pat Gardner.
"That was a huge play," Maskill
said. "(Johnston) came outside and I thought he was going to have a chance get
some positive yards. Then (Taiyon) got a chance and came up and waylayed him.
That was big."
Seven plays later, Jackson culminated a 7-play, 48-yard
drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give MSU its first lead of the night at
28-24 with 3:27 to go in the third quarter.
Jackson was at it again on
the Mustangs' next possession with perhaps the play of the year. He slipped a
tackle in the backfield and squirted away for a 45-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-1
play to stake MSU to a 35-27 lead with 8 minutes to play.
"He ran
extremely hard and kept his legs moving," Maskill said. "We grew up tonight on
both sides of the ball."
Taiyon Jackson posted a season-high 11 tackles
for an MSU defense that limited the West Alabama attack to 116 yards in the
second half.
Midwestern State plays host to Angelo State next Saturday
for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
