Former Ravenwood star Chris Rowland had a big night for Tennessee State in the 21st annual John Merritt Classic at Nissan Stadium Saturday night. The senior delivered with an 11-catch performance for 172 yards and a touchdown in the 26-20 victory over Mississippi Valley State. Rowland’s longest catch of the night came on a 53-yard pitch and catch to regain the lead in the third quarter. Rowland was named Most Valuable Player in the John Merritt Classic. Linebacker Jashun Bryant was named the Defensive Player of the Game with nine total tackles. Chris Rowland leads the way Rowland got rolling during the third possession for the Tigers (1-0). The slot receiver caught three straight passes on the drive, leading to a touchdown run of 7 yards by quarterback Cameron Rosendahl. Rowland dazzled with three highlight plays on the night on a reception of 43 yards, a 34-yard punt return and the 53-yard catc. He hauled in seven receptions in the first half. Cameron Rosendahl had a solid debut as the starting quarterback for the Tigers. He finished the game 25-of-42 for 330 yards and two total touchdowns. The 7-yard touchdown run by Rosendahl was the first rushing touchdown of his career. The former TSU quarterback turned offensive coordinator, Shannon Harris, had a slow first half before his pro-style attack gained momentum in the second half. Te’Kendrick Roberson didn’t find much wiggle room in the running game during the first half, but finished with a solid 75 yards on 16 carries. The team finished with 117 yards rushing. The more Harris dialed up plays for Rowland, the more successful his offense became. The offense finished with 447 total yards. The defense allowed two touchdowns. The first score by the Delta Devils came on a 32-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Kevonte Daniels. TSU held Mississippi Valley State to 43 total yards in the first half. The special teams also made a play for the Tigers with a blocked PAT. MVS averaged a pedestrian 3.5 yards per play on 247 total yards. The longest play allowed by the Tigers was 17 yards. The Tigers had two challenges go in their favor. The first wiped out a fumble recovery Daniels returned for a touchdown, ruling that there wasn’t a fumble because the pass was incomplete. The second challenge came on a pass down the sideline to Malik Abdul-Haqq, who was ruled out of bounds. The replay showed he was inbounds. The 28-yard reception set up a field goal to put TSU ahead by a touchdown with 3:10 to play. Written by: Kelton Brooks / Photos by Thaddaeus McAdams
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