Texas Southern Beats Grambling State 23-20 in Overtime: Renfro Runs for 233 Yards and McCoy Scores the Winner
Texas Southern needed one overtime possession and its running back's career night. Athean Renfro ran for 233 yards and two long touchdowns, and Cam'Ron McCoy's 6-yard run in overtime gave the Tigers a 23-20 win over Grambling State in Houston on Saturday night.
Houston's SWAC meeting delivered the night's best finish in Texas. Texas Southern beat Grambling State 23-20 in overtime at W.W. Thorne Stadium on Saturday night, riding a career rushing night from Athean Renfro and a walk-off touchdown from quarterback Cam'Ron McCoy, Texas Southern's official athletics recap reported.
Renfro was the game's engine: 233 yards on 21 carries — 11.1 yards a run — with touchdown bursts of 75 and 86 yards, leading a Texas Southern ground game that piled up 317 rushing yards and 432 total yards to Grambling State's 286. It nearly started in disaster: the Tigers' opening 14-play drive ended in a fumble at the Grambling 5-yard line, and after Miguel Arana III's 47-yard field goal opened the scoring, Grambling quarterback Ashton Frye's 6-yard touchdown run put the visitors up 10-3.
Overtime followed the same script as the night — defense first, then Renfro. Grambling, playing defense-first after Texas Southern won the toss, was held to a 31-yard field goal and a 20-17 lead. Renfro opened the Tigers' answer with a 20-yard run to the Grambling 5, lost a yard, and then McCoy raced six yards to the corner of the end zone for the win, the school reported. McCoy finished with 115 passing yards, 46 rushing yards and the game-winner.
The victory is Texas Southern's second in a row — it beat Southern 24-21 on a walk-off field goal in its previous game — and its third straight over Grambling State. The Tigers improve to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the SWAC.
