Jackson is site of all star game

Published 10:07 pm Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Jerry Babb of Louisiana-Lafayette passed for a touchdown and led the Green team to a strong offensive showing in a 32-14 win over the Red team in the Magnolia Gridiron Classic.

The Green team, made up of Division I-A and lower-division all-stars, jumped out to a 25-0 lead midway through the first half on the way to its second straight win over a Red team made up of Division I-AA all-stars. The game is for players considered possible pro prospects whose teams didn’t make the postseason.

Offensive most valuable player Babb and Tim Brasic of Illinois passed for touchdowns in the first half, Illinois’ Pierre Thomas scored on a 1-yard run and the Green team ran away with the game.

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Babb completed 5 of 7 passes for 71 yards as the I-A all-stars amassed 386 yards of offense.

Edgar Jones of Southeast Missouri State was the game’s defensive MVP. He had four sacks for the lower-division all-stars.

Jamal Pittman of Jackson State and Eldra Buckley of Tennessee-Chattanooga scored on runs of 1 and 7 yards late in the second half to rally the Red team. But by then the game was well out of reach.

After a 47-yard field goal by John Deraney of North Carolina State, Brasic hit Tulane’s Demarcus Davis with a 15-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter.

Memphis’ Michael Gibson completed a 2-point conversion pass to Jon Hamlett of North Carolina after Thomas’ touchdown plunge to make it 18-0 early in the second quarter. Babb followed with a 25-yard pass to Hamlett for a 25-0 lead at halftime.

Terrell Jordan of Northwestern scored the Green team’s second-half touchdown on an 11-yard run. He finished with 57 yards rushing. Teammate Anthony Merritt of North Alabama had four catches for 69 yards.

Aries Nelson of Mississippi Valley State led the Red offense with 161 total yards, including 64 rushing.