College football referee interrupts penalty call to salute military veterans during Celebration Bowl

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Jackson State’s Travis Terrell Jr. just returned a punt return 81 yards for a touchdown to give Jackson State a 7-0 lead over South Carolina State in the first quarter of the Celebration Bowl on Saturday.

The only problem for Jackson State was that there was a flag on the play. 

Then, when making the call, referee Rory Bernard did something unusual.

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Colonel James Reed, the current Chief of the Joint Staff for the Tennessee National Guard and an MTSU alumnus, presents the game ball to the head referee Rory Bernard before the start of the game between MTSU and Charlotte on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, at MTSU. (IMAGN)

“I’d like to salute our military veterans,” Bernard said before saluting.

Bernard’s salute drew applause from the crowd. After paying homage to the military veterans, Bernard announced the flag. 

“Personal foul, unnecessary roughness, return team, number 11, the fifteen-yard penalty will be enforced from the spot of the foul, first down,” said Bernard.

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Jackson State Tigers quarterback Jacobian Morgan (15) talks to head coach T.C. Taylor against the South Carolina State Bulldogs in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  (Brett Davis-Imagn Images)

Unfortunately for Jackson State and Terrell Jr., the touchdown was wiped off the board.

The Celebration Bowl is an annual matchup of the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Jackson State is playing in its third Celebration Bowl in four years but has yet to win one as Deion Sanders was unable to win it for the school before departing for Colorado.

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South Carolina State Bulldogs head coach Chennis Berry on the sideline against the Jackson State Tigers in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  (Brett Davis-Imagn Images)

Jackson State came into the game with an 11-2 record, with South Carolina State at 9-2. Their meeting in this year’s Celebration Bowl is the seventh all-time meeting between the schools, with the teams 3-3 against each other. 

Bernard’s show of patriotism is likely to be the first of many on Saturday, as Army and Navy are set to face off for the 125th time at 3:00 p.m. ET.

President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will both be in attendance for the Army-Navy game in Northwest Stadium, Landover, Maryland, on Saturday afternoon. 

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