North Carolina Central Beats Jackson State In Celebration Bowl 41-34

At Saturday’s Cricket Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, North Carolina Central ruined outgoing Coach Deion Sanders’ last game for the Jackson State Tigers with an exciting win in a contest that went back and forth.

NCC beat JSU 41-34 in overtime before more than 50,000 fans in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Jackson State reached the one-year-line but a pass by All-SWAC quarterback Shedeur Sanders sailed out of bounds.

NCC Quarterback Davius Richard threw for 177 yards and ran for 97 more and two touchdowns, shutting the door on Jackson State’s undefeated season.

Cricket Celebration Bowl 2022 Score: NCC 41, Jackson State 34

After the game, Coach Deion Sanders told reporters in the post-game interview, he said that any insinuation that he was leaving Jackson State to boast his income was false.

“I don’t coach for legacy. I coach for kids. I coach for the love and passion. To fathom that I would do anything for money just blows my mind,” Sanders said in the postgame interview.

He also expressed admiration for the student-athletes he coach this year.

“I feel like we’ve won, but we didn’t win that game,” said Sanders. “I miss these guys already. I love them.”

The Cricket Celebration Bowl featured the conference winners from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

North Carolina Central last played in the Celebration Bowl in 2016, losing to Grambling State of the SWAC. NCC has however won two Black College Division II national titles in the mid-2000s.

Jackson State on the other hand, played in the Celebration Bowl last year after coming in with an 11-1 record. JSU lost 31-10 to South Carolina State.

The souring ending marked the conclusion of the Prime Time experience for Jackson State, a historically black university in Mississippi. Sanders now goes the Colorado Buffaloes.

Coach Deion Sanders On Why He Decided To leave Jackson State

“We are only here in Atlanta for one thing, and ain’t to go to #MagicCity , although I love my man magic, we’re here to win a football game,” Sanders told reporters.
 
“There’s no pressure this is fun…  there’s no pressure, this is a game. There are so many people in the hospital dealing with pressure…this is a game & we play to win.” 

Final Word

Held in Atlanta, the Cricket Celebration Bowl celebrates the heritage, legacy and tradition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The annual event is one of the year’s end must-attend events in Georgia’s largest city.

Atlanta has a lot of cool things to do and places to eat, including some of the top soul food joints and remarkable Thai food spots. Explore the city.

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Tee Johnson: Tee Johnson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AtlantaFi.com, Atlanta’s independent hyper-local publication focused on news, restaurants, events, jobs, neighborhoods, and lifestyle. A 15+ year Atlanta resident and longtime journalist and content creator, she covers Travel News, Events, Business, Hair Care, and Money with a practical, Atlanta-first lens. Before launching the site, Johnson worked as a substitute teacher in Atlanta Public Schools and later in corporate roles at Home Depot’s Vinings offices. A marketer by training with a degree in business management, she grew frustrated with the fragmented, hard-to-find information about what was actually happening in the city. That gap led her to create AtlantaFi as a curated, one-stop resource for the pulse of Atlanta—#ATLHAPS—without the national noise. Editorial decisions remain independent; the publication does not accept products, meals, or services in exchange for coverage. As Editor-in-Chief, she oversees original local reporting and curated practical guides that help residents, visitors, and businesses discover and engage with the city. Readers turn to her work for timely event roundups, dining and neighborhood insights, business and travel updates, and straightforward money and lifestyle coverage grounded in firsthand observation of Atlanta. A devoted lover of all things Atlanta, Tee enjoys pickleball, a good margarita or bourbon, and walking the Atlanta Beltline. She can be reached for editorial inquiries at tjohnson@atlantafi.com (serious inquiries only).
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