HOUSTON, TX -- The Southern University football team traveled west on I-10 for a Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup Saturday night, where the Jaguars dominated Texas Southern 51-23 at BBVA Stadium.
Ladarius Skelton threw for 174 yards on 11-of-18 passing with two touchdowns and rushed for 71 yards.
John Lampley was 2-of-2 for 28 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight End
Ethan Howard set a career-high with two touchdowns, two catches for a career-best 56 yards while
Rashad Muhammad added 64 yards on 10 carries.
Defensively SU was lead by,
Jakobi Jones who recorded seven tackles and returned and had one interception for 47 yards.
Jordan Lewis recorded six tackles and two sacks. The Jaguar defense held the Tigers to 383 total offensive yards.
Southern (2-1, 2-1 SWAC) got out to a quick start scoring on their first offensive drive of the game, when Skelton found Ethan Howard who broke two tackles for a 38-yard touchdown. On the next possession facing 3rd and 19, TSU had a bad snap when the ball sailed over the quarterback and
Jordan Lewis sacked Brown in the endzone for the safety, giving SU a 9-0 lead at the 8:00 mark.
Texas Southern (0-2, 0-2 SWAC) got on the board 9-7, after Howard rushed from 3-yards out with :26 to play in the first quarter.
Southern responded with a quick five-play, 73-yard march, set up by a 31-yard completion to
Marquis McClain. Skelton rushed for a five yard gain to the TSU 22 yard line but came up limping and went to the sideline to get checked out. On the next play, Lampley threw a 22-yard scoring pass to
Jerodd Sims, putting Southern up 16-7 with 13:32 to play in the quarter.
The Tigers threatened late in the second quarter when Brown found Ke'Lenn Davis wide open for 54-yard touchdown, cutting into the Jaguars lead 16-14 with 2:28 remaining before halftime.
SU got a spark on special teams when, TSU's Garcia kickoff went for 68-yards and was caught by
Shykee Thomas who returned it up the right side for a 98-yard touchdown, giving the Jaguars a 23-14 lead into halftime.
Southern came out in the second half similar to their opening drive, using a powerful run attack for a nine-play 73-yard scoring drive. Capped off by Sims 14-yard touchdown extending SU lead 30-14 with 10:44 in the third quarter. The drive was set up by Skelton, who had 43-yards rushing on the drive and Muhammad 14-yard run.
The Jaguars defense came up big on the next possession, holding the Tigers to 15 yards and
Tyruss Gayden and
Letrelle Johnson sacked Brown for a seven yard loss setting up a 3rd and 15 which TSU later punted.
Southern scored on the next possession on a 18-yard
Ethan Howard reception that was set up by
Craig Nelson 16-yard and 9-yard runs, giving the Jaguars a 37-14 lead at the 3:51 mark.
TSU got a 41-yard completion, to set the ball up at the Southern 22, and on 3rd and goal were able to score a touchdown but failed on the 2-point conversion, making it 37-20 with 12:41 remaining.
SU marched right back down the field set up by a Skelton 29-yard pass completion to
Corey Williams, for a five-play 45-yard scoring drive capped off with Sims 5-yard touchdown run. Extending SU lead 44-20 with 10:16 remaining.
TSU threatened in the fourth quarter with the ball on the Southern 46, but was intercepted by
Jakobi Jones at the 25-yard line who returned it for 47-yards to the TSU 28-yard line.
Southern handed the ball off to Muhammad for a 10-yard, 8-yard and 4-yard gain. Capped by Lampley throw to
Brandon Hinton for 6-yard touchdown pushing the lead to 51-20, with 7:01 to play in the fourth.
The Jaguars rolled up 458 offensive yards (202 passing and 256 rushing) while the Tigers finished with 383 total yards (281 passing and 102 rushing).
UP NEXT
Southern will be off this weekend, but will return on Saturday, April 3, 2021 when the Jaguars travel to Jackson State University. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm.
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