SWAC Week 1 Review:
Charles Wells, SWAC Contributor | September 8, 2015
SWAC football got off to a rough but predictable start as teams stepped up to play FBS competition. Here are the recaps of the week’s action:
Thursday, September 3
Georgia Tech 69, Alcorn State 6
The Braves headed to the ATL to face the ACC favorite Yellow Jackets, things got off to a rough start immediately for the Braves as they surrendered 34 points in the first quarter and 48 in the half while also struggling to generate anything offensively. John Gibbs Jr. completed 8-of-22 passes for 106 and an interception. He also led the team in rushing carrying the ball seven times for 51 yards. Darryan Ragsdale was held to 50 yards on 11 attempts. The Tech Defense kept the Braves off balance all night, in their first game without Offensive Coordinator Willie Simmons.
Alcorn gave up 553 yards of total offense with 476 coming on the ground. Tech scored on its first seven possessions. Defensively, Alcorn was led by Damon Watkins who finished with 12 tackles. Darien Anderson totaled 12 while Darien McNair registered the only sack. On the plus side this will be the best team Alcorn faces this season and they will be able to work the kinks out during SWAC play.
Saturday, September 5
California 73, Grambling State 14
The Tigers went west to Cali to face the Golden Bears, things did not go well for them. Grambling State threw two interceptions for scores and surrendered three first half touchdowns. Last year lack of pass rush and inconsistent coverage in the secondary were issues for the Tigers, on Saturday the Bears exploited those weaknesses. Cal’s Jared Goff connected with Kenny Lawler three times for scores as the Tigers found themselves trailing 52-0 at halftime
Johnathan Williams threw four interceptions in the first half but there were a couple bright spots: Martez Carter scored on a 90-yard run in the fourth quarter and Nicholas Peoples added two interceptions for the Tigers. GSU forced two turnovers on the Golden Bears first three drives with a deflected pass by thrown by Goff and a fumble near the goal line by Vic Enwere.
Williams threw as many interceptions as completed passes in the first quarter. GSU’s Guy Stallworth led both teams in tackles with 10. Nicholas Peoples finished with nine stops and a pair of interceptions for the Tigers.
Middle Tennessee State 70, Jackson State 14
Jackson State came out firing but didn’t have enough as the Blue Riders took care of business. LaMontiez Ivy threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns but Jackson State still dropped it season opener at Middle Tennessee State 70-14 Saturday night.
JSU’s Dan Williams, continues to be Ivy’s go to guy, leading all receivers with 7 receptions for 130 yards. Stacy Noble totaled 13 tackles with 11 of them solo stops. Brent Stockstill threw four touchdowns for Middle Tennessee, he was 23 of 29 for 336 yards. Jeremiah Bryson rushed for two scores and Jordan Parker and Ruben Garnett each ran for a touchdown. A 75 yard interception return by D.J. Sanders closed out the scoring for Middle Tennessee. The Tigers trailed by 21 and with no time remaining before the break, Howard returned a blocked JSU field goal 63 yards for another score and the Blue Raiders had a 42-14 halftime advantage.
New Mexico 66, Mississippi Valley State 0
The Delta Devils traveled to Albuquerque to face the Lobos and the outcome was not pretty. Mississippi Valley State allowed New Mexico to tie a school and Mountain West Conference record for rushing touchdowns with eight in a season-opening 66-0 defeat Saturday night.
The Delta Devils struggled offensively finishing the game with only 74 yards of total offense. MVSU never crossed midfield on the night. They didn’t get past their own 40 in the first half and the deepest penetration came on its final possession when it reached their own 42.
Lobos quarterback Lamar Jordan completed all seven of his passes for 103 yards and added 62 rushing yards and the game’s first touchdown. Thomas Stokes Jr. led the Delta Devils with 40 yards on 13 carries, but overall they finished with 26 rushing yards on 40 carries. Of all the blowouts on Saturday this was easily the worst.
Cincinnati 52, Alabama A&M 10
Alabama A&M fell at Cincinnati in front of an on-campus record crowd of the newly renovated Nippert Stadium 52-10 Saturday night. The Bulldogs were competitive early. Gunner Kiel led the Bearcats on an 8-play, 58-yard touchdown drive that began with a 20-yard pass to Shaq Washington and ended with Johnny Holton catching a 6-yard TD pass. The Bulldogs would respond with a forced fumble and blocked punt which led to a a five play drive with DeWayne Ballard hitting Tevin McKenzie on a 12-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7-7 with 5:55 to play in the first quarter.
Kiel and the Bearcats were too much as they pulled ahead 35-7 at halftime. He went 18 of 22 for 233 yards. AAMU didn’t score again until the 5:15 mark of the fourth quarter when Cesar Diaz-Ramon kicked a 28-yard field goal. By then, UC had scored 45 unanswered points. Bryan Bower rushed the ball 19 times for 61 yards for AAMU.
Louisiana Tech 62 Southern 15
After a 12 minute delay, the Bulldogs only needed less than 10 minutes to score the first 17 points and had touchdowns covering 55, 45, 22, 27, 58 and 65 yards in rolling to a 44-point halftime lead.
Jeff Driskel made his first start after transferring from Florida; he threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score. Kenny Dixon scored on a 55-yard pass play and a 65-yard run; he finished with 171 total yards.
Southern’s only points came on a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Willie Quinn and a 1-yard TD run by Lenard Tillery. Danny Johnson had two interceptions for the Jags. Austin Howard completed 9 of 17 passes for just 66 yards as the Bulldogs swarmed Jaguars receivers. The Jaguars’ best sequence was an 85-yard drive that ended with Tillery’s touchdown in the third quarter. The Jags are considered a contender in the West, they will have to rebound from this game and continue to develop.
Prairie View 38, Texas Southern 11
The Tigers and Panthers faced off in the Labor Day Classic, the Panthers gave the SWAC their only win of the weekend. Trey Green ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third. The victory made Willie Simmons a winner in his debut as head coach of the Panthers. Simmons served as Alcorn State’s offensive coordinator last season.
Green ran 80 yards for his first score in the opening minutes of the game and the Panthers held a 10-3 lead at halftime. He scored from the two yard line early in the third quarter and Johnta Hebert added an 11-yard run for a score to give PVAMU a 24-3 lead after three quarters.
After Green threw 11 yards to Nick Pitre for a 7-yard score to make it 31-3. The Tigers struggled to get offense going all game long. Averion Hurts got Texas Southern into the end zone with a 5-yard toss to Larry Clark III. Malik Cross hauled eight passes totaling 65 yards for TSU. Courtney Brown (returning from a knee injury that caused him to miss all 2014), Green and Hebert combined for 224 yards on the ground for the Panthers.
Sunday, September 6
South Carolina State 35, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7
UAPB was plagued with turnovers and a sluggish third quarter Sunday evening at the 11th Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge falling to South Carolina State 35-7 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The MEAC has owned this game winning 9 out of 11 meetings. Both teams combined for eight turnovers with UAPB throwing three interceptions in a game that started two hours late due to lightning delays.
The Golden Lions struggled on offense with the team playing three different quarterbacks. Collectively, they were 6-of-29 for 38 yards passing. Last season’s leading receiver in Willie Young has held to one catch and nine yards receiving. Brian Handley, who carried the ball 11 times for 51 yards was named MVP for the Golden Lions. Javon Hargraves earned MVP honors for the Bulldogs. He ended the game with 7 tackles including three sacks.
S.C. State, who led 7-0 at halftime rushed for one score, returned an interception for a touchdown along with an 18-yard scamper all in the third quarter opening up a 28-7 lead heading into the fourth. The Golden Lions only score came on a Draylon Willis 20 yard run in the third.UAPB surrendered 336 yards of total offense and was held to 191 yards.
Tennessee State 24, Alabama State 14
The Brian Jenkins era got off to a rough start as Alabama State gave up three fourth quarter touchdowns to squander away 14-3 lead falling to Tennessee State 24-14 in Nashville Sunday evening at Nissan Stadium. Patrick Smith, Tom Smith and Telvin Hooks scored fourth-quarter touchdowns for TSU The Tigers trailed by 11 going into the fourth quarter before Patrick Smith caught Oshay Ackerman-Carter’s 19-yard TD pass with 14:22 to go.
Latrelle Lee forced an Alabama State fumble three plays later and Javon Brandon recovered for the Tigers on the Hornets 36. Tom Smith’s 12-yard TD run gave TSU a 17-14 lead with 12:01 left. The Hornets fumbled again on the very next drive, and Hooks scored an insurance touchdown on a 5-yard run with 6:15 to play.
Daniel Duhart was 20-of-25 passing for 225 yards for the Hornets including an 82-yard TD pass to Josh Davis in the first quarter. Duhart ran for another score midway through the third that gave Alabama State a 14-3 lead.
Football Players of the Week: September 7
Offensive Player of the Week – Trey Green
Green accounted for three total touchdowns and 248 yards of offense in the Panthers’ 38-11 win over Texas Southern. The redshirt junior threw for 167 yards and a score, and he added 81 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. Green’s week 1 output surpassed all of his offensive production from the 2014 season.
Defensive Player of the Week – Ahkeem Barton
Barton was a large part of Prairie View’s defensive play versus Texas Southern, as the sophomore notched five tackles (2.5 TFL) and also collected two sacks for the Panthers defense, which held Texas Southern to 291 total yards of offense in a winning effort. With his efforts, Barton has already tied his 2014 total output in the sack department.
Special Teams Player of the Week – Willie Quinn
Quinn racked up 197 return yards, including a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, in Southern’s loss versus Louisiana Tech. For Quinn, it was second kick return score of his career, and fifth overall return for a touchdown. It is also the longest return for Quinn in his career, surpassing a 98-yard return touchdown he notched in the 2013 season.
Newcomer of the Week –Derrick Bobo
Bobo made six stops – all solo – in Jackson State’s loss to Middle Tennessee State. For the redshirt junior, it was his first in-game action of his collegiate career after missing last year due to injury.