SWAC Week 3 Review:
Charles Wells, SWAC Contributor | September 22, 2015
Southern 50, Jackson State 31
Southern defeated Jackson State at A.W. Mumford Stadium Saturday night for the first time since 2005 with a 50-31 victory over its arch rival in front of a sellout crowd. The Jaguars tallied 675 yards of total offense (272 rushing and 395 passing) handing the Tigers its third loss in a row. JSU is now 0-3 for the first time since 2009.
Austin Howard scored on a four yard run for Southern within the first two minutes of action and connected on a 43 yard touchdown pass to Willie Quinn establishing an early 15-0 lead. La Montiez Ivy found Dan Williams on a 24 yard touchdown toss to get JSU on the board bringing the score to 15-7. A pair of Jaguars’ scores by Malcolm Crockett and Howard made the score 50-24 in the fourth quarter, Ivy connected once more with Dan Williams for its final score with 2:03 remaining in the game. Ivy passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with eight different receivers. Jairus Moll led all receivers with 130 yards and a touchdown. Williams caught a game high seven passes gaining 90 yards for JSU.
Prairie View A&M 53, Alabama A&M 49
Trey Green threw four touchdown passes and Courtney Brown ran for two consecutive fourth-quarter scores to rally Prairie View A&M over Alabama A&M 53-49 on Saturday. Green completed 27 of 40 passes for 345 yards with one interception for the Panthers (2-1, 2-0). Nick Pitre caught eight passes for 196 yards and three TDs, and Brown’s 12-yard scoring run put the Panthers up 26-14 at halftime.
The Bulldogs (0-2, 0-1) rallied to a 43-40 fourth-quarter lead after scoring 15 unanswered points capped by a two yard run by Harvey Harris. Brown put the Panthers back on top 47-43 with a 21-yard run with 3:10 to play, then, after an AAMU fumble, scored on the Panthers’ next possession on a 16-yard run. Brown gained 113 yards on 14 carries. De’Angelo Ballard threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more for the Bulldogs. He completed 14 of 29 passes for 352 yards. Devonte Simon finished with 10 tackles for AAMU with nine solo stops. Brown Foster led PVAMU with seven tackles.
Grambling State 34, Alabama State 10
Johnathan Williams completed 20 of 37 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns to help lead Grambling State to a 34-10 victory over Alabama State on Saturday. All four of Williams’ scoring throws went to different receivers, including a 36-yard strike to Chad Williams who led the Tigers with six catches for 86 yards. Ka’Jandre Domino, Verlon Hunter, and Martez Carter each added touchdown catches and Carter finished with 71 yards rushing on nine carries for Grambling State (1-2, 1-0).
David Albert connected on a 33-yard field goal that gave Alabama State (0-3, 0-2) its only lead of the game after the first quarter. From there the Tigers scored 34 unanswered points to take a commanding lead late into the fourth. Ellis Richardson scored the Hornets only touchdown on a seven yard run with 2:42 left in the game. Quinteris Toppings, who made his first appearance of the season at quarterback led ASU with 159 yards passing. The Hornets 0-3 start is its worst since 2008.
Texas Southern 24, Arkansas Pine Bluff 20
Darrell Robinson scored from two yards in the third quarter and Eric Medina tacked on an insurance field goal with 1:34 left and Texas Southern topped Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 24-20 Saturday night. UAPB (1-2, 0-1) took a 10-0 lead and held a 13-7 advantage at intermission, but Robinson scored his first touchdown early in the second half to give TSU a 14-13 lead. Nicholas Woodfork scored less than a minute later to put the Golden Lions back on top, 20-14, but the Tigers (2-1, 1-1) scored the final 10 points to secure the win. Jamal Lucas was by far the star defensively for TSU finishing with 14 tackles and an interception. Kyle Walker led UAPB with eight tackles and a sack.
Robinson finished with 16 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers while Johnathan Bowen was 12 of 24 for 178 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Terrell was 18 of 32 for 189 yards to lead UAPB, but was picked off twice.
Alcorn State 55, Mississippi Valley State 14
John Gibbs, Jr. rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 118 yards and a score as Alcorn State topped Mississippi Valley State 55-14 Saturday night. Gibbs accomplished the feat despite handling just seven carries for the Braves (2-1, 2-0). His 72-yard scoring run early in the second quarter put his team up 28-0. They totaled 304 yards rushing, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. Arron Baker rushed for 53 yards adding two touchdowns to the tally in the third quarter.
Thomas Stokes, Jr. finished with 37 yards rushing, Edwin Faison Jr. had 32 and Ruban Thurston passed for 110 yards and a touchdown for Mississippi Valley State (0-3, 0-2), which managed just 191 total yards. Each team struggled with penalties and finished with double-digit disciplines.
Football Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Austin Howard, Southern
Quarterback
Southern’s signal-caller shined during Southern’s 50-31 victory over Jackson State, as he threw for a career-high 395 yards and a score on 21-of-32 passing while running for 29 yards and two more scores. It was the second-straight week that the Jaguars put 50 points on the board.
Defensive Player of the Week
Kourtney Berry, Alabama State
Berry was a bright spot for the Hornets in their 34-10 loss to Grambling State, as the senior linebacker racked up 19 stops (0.5 TFL) during the contest. Berry was the lone player on either side to accumulate double-digit tackles in the contest, and he is averaging 16 tackles per game thus far this year.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Marc Orozco, Grambling State
Grambling State kicker Marc Orozco was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts for the Tigers in their 34-10 win over Alabama State, and also averaged 46.2 yards per punt during the game, twice pinning Alabama State inside its own 20-yard line.
Newcomer of the Week
De’Angelo Ballard, Alabama A&M
Alabama A&M’s junior quarterback tossed for 352 yards and three scores – on 14-of-29 passing – and also added in 96 yards on the ground and two more scores during the Bulldogs’ 53-49 shootout loss to Prairie View A&M.