The Texas Southern University (TSU) Tigers are now 3-0 this season after coming to The Bahamas and taking care of business with a 30-16 win over the Central State University (CSU) Marauders in the inaugural Bahamas HBCUX Classic. The game was played Saturday evening in front of a sparse crowd at the new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
The Tigers managed to power their way into the end zone twice with a strong running attack; they also scored two touchdowns off passes from second-string quarterback Jamal Small. Small threw for 186 yards in his second start in place of Homer Causey, and ran for 108 yards on 13 carries.
The Marauders' only points of the first half came on a 32-yard field goal by John Adams. Texas Southern carried a 13-3 lead into half-time and appeared to be in complete control of the game.
At the start of the third quarter, Tigers' running back Daveonn Porter scored one of his two touchdowns to give them a 20-3 lead. The Marauders got back into the game with back-to-back touchdowns to cut it to 20-16, one on a 25-yard interception return by Christian Wilson.
In the latter part of the third, Tigers' Eric Medina kicked a 24-yard field goal, which was followed by Porter's fourth quarter four-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach.
Almost 3,000 fans came out to see the teams battle in the historic game that was broadcasted by the HBCUX (Historically Black Colleges and Universities Experience) Network. This is the first year of a three-year contract between the HBCUs and The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. Each year of the contract, two historically black colleges or universities will square off against each other in the collegiate football game right here in The Bahamas.
"I think we're onto something really big. I just needed a shot to get out of the door and I preached time and time again, let me crawl first. We might make some mistakes, but we have the opportunity to learn from them. We had a good crowd out here and I think it was a good game, and that's what it's all about," said HBCUX Network President Curtis Symonds.
"The idea of my network is to show this kind of experience. People of all cultures need to see what we can do out here, as far as what we are all about. We get underestimated all the time about that, and what's sad to me is that people think you have to go to these major schools to get things done, but that's not the case. It's what you put into it that matters. When I look back at it, it's been hard and I took a lot of bumps and bruises over the last few weeks trying to get here, but what I told everyone is judge me on September 13, and if I didn't deliver something good, you can boot me out. I think I brought something here that's going to open doors."
The game this past Saturday was the first of two American college football games at the national stadium this year. The second is set for Christmas Eve, December 24, and will feature teams from Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in the American collegiate system. Both of the games are part of the Ministry of Tourism's "Sports in Paradise" campaign.
"It has been an incredible experience. I saw the stadium go wild when one of the teams scored a touchdown, so this has generated those that knew nothing about football. Hopefully, they will have developed a new interest in football. We have developed a good relationship with the HBCUs and out of this relationship we have already received six full scholarships which is a substantial investment, and they have expressed interest in working with us moving forward," said Director General in the Ministry of Tourism Joy Jibruli.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr. Daniel Johnson said: "There are a couple historic things here. This is a fall classic which is basically a homecoming game. There is a younger market that I'm going after which is college sports. We know it's a huge market, and we're testing all of the systems here, getting ready for December."
The Popeyes Bahamas Bowl is set to be the biggest American collegiate football game ever hosted here in The Bahamas.

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