Grambling overcomes Mississippi Valley 38-23 — and sprinkler malfunction

Grambling State University vs. Mississippi Valley State UniversityITTA BENA, Mississippi (AP) — Johnathan Williams threw three second-quarter touchdown passes and Grambling State rallied to beat Mississippi Valley State 38-23 on Thursday night for its seventh straight victory.

The game was interrupted briefly late in the second quarter when the field sprinklers went off.

Williams was 19 of 32 for 382 yards for the Tigers (7-3, 7-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference). He also had seven carries for 33 yards and a touchdown, a 10-yarder in the fourth quarter.

In the second quarter, Williams threw scoring passes of 11 yards to Chad Williams, 35 yards to Verlon Hunter and 30 yards to Anthony McGhee. Hunter had four catches for 131 yards, and McGhee had three for 112 yards.

Quarterback Quantavius Peterson had 10-and 1-yard scoring runs in the first quarter to give Mississippi Valley State (2-8, 1-7) a 14-0 lead. Peterson also threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Rice to cut it to 28-23 early in the fourth quarter.