Oct. 18, 2009
Final Stats
The Southern Jaguar "Dog Day Defense" forced nine turnovers, including seven interceptions, and SU used a 21-3 second quarter outburst to cruise to a 55-23 Homecoming victory over Fort Valley State in front of 24,500 fans in AW Mumford Stadium.
"I'm proud of the way we rallied back from not playing well initially", says head coach PETE RICHARDSON. "I didn't think we were focused at the start, but falling behind early got our attention and we were able to get back on track."
Southern got on the board first after recovering a Fort Valley muffed punt, and it took just two plays for Bryant Lee to hook up with LaQuinton Evans to put the Jags up 7-0.
The touchdown pass marked a historic moment as Bryant Lee became the All-Time leader in touchdown passes in Southern history. Lee surpassed Eric Randall for the most career touchdown passes. Lee came into the game tied with Randall with both men having thrown for 56 career touchdowns.
Fort Valley would answer back with an eight play drive covering 50 yards with a Richard Willis six yard score, pulling the Wildcats even with the Jags at 7-7. The Wildcats would take the lead in the second quarter, after a 12 play 77 yard drive that ended with Fort Valley making a 20 yard field goal.
Continuing to apply the pressure to the Jags on Homecoming, Fort Valley would march down the field again threatening to break the game wide open, when SU cornerback, Timothy Berry stepped in front of a Nathaniel Samas pass in the endzone to end the Wildcats drive and gave the Jags a much neede energy shot in arm.
The Jaguars (4-2,1-1 SWAC) would the then feed off of the energy of the newly installed "Jaguar" offense, SU's version of the "Wildcat", as redshirt-junior, Gary Hollimon, burst through the right side and cut back to the middle and outraced everyone for a 67 yard touchdown - the Jags longest of the season. Five minutes later, Hollimon was off to the races once again, this time from 24 yards out.
"We have to be able to run the football. We were just not getting it done. It (Jaguar) was a package we put in this week to try and get Gary (Hollimon) some more touches. He did a good job of reading the blocking scheme we laid out and was able to get some big runs and scores for us", says Orlando.
Southern would break the game open with a Andre' Coleman 34 yard interception return for a touchdown with 27 seconds left in the half, to give SU a commanding 28-10 halftime lead.
Fort Valley's Brandon Anderson's 3-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 28-16 in the third for the Wildcats. But the Jaguars added to their lead with a Byron Williams six yard score, and would push the lead further, with a Brian Threat one yard touchdown run, to give the Jags a 41-16 lead.
But the Wildcats refuse to give in, and Demario Barber's 1-yard rushing touchdown with 3:30 left in the third cut he Jags lead to 41-23 heading into the final quarter.
The final stanza would be all Andre' Coleman, SU "Dynamic Cuo" would hook up once again for a 14 yard score giving the Jags a 55-23 final advantage.
Offensively for SU, Lee finished 11 of 23 with two interceptions for 192 yards passing and three touchdowns. All-American wide receiver, Juamorris Stewart, caught five passes for 126 yard and two TD's. LaQuinton Evans also had a touchdown catch, SU's first score of the game, from 12 yards out from Bryant Lee.
Defensively for the Jags, Timothy Berry had two interceptions, while Jeremy Ivory also had one interception with a 35 yard return.
With the win, Southern must turns its attentions quickly to SWAC West leading Prairie View A&M, who will invade AW Mumford Stadium on Thursday night in a nationally televised game on ESPNU. It is a critical contest for SU, as a lose would almost eliminated them from Championship contention.
The Southern University Jaguars will do their part in helping with Breast Cancer Awareness, when the Jags host Prairie View A&M next Thursday night in AW Mumford Stadium. 2 for 1 tickets will also be on sale, for SELECTED sections until Tuesday afternoon, and fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer survivors. It will be the first ever Thursday night game in Southern's history. The game will be televised "live" by ESPNU, with gametime set for 6:30 pm.
