Five In A Row: Jaguars Roll Over Jackson State in Boom Box Classic

The Southern University (SU) Jaguars and Jackson State (JSU) Tigers had a Boombox Classic for the ages last Saturday at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Jackson State failed to secure a win so far this season, but with rivalry games, the record books go out the window.
Kickoff for the game was put on hold due to lightning being tracked near the stadium. This allowed the Human Jukebox and the Sonic Boom of the South to duel it out from the stands. After an hour and 30 minute delay, the attention shifted to the gridiron.
Jackson State’s offense came out the tunnel swinging with a quick start, scoring on their opening drive. Southern responded with their defense forcing a 3 and out on the next Tigers’ possession. SU took only 4 plays on offense to tie the game at 7 with 8:07 left in the first quarter.
With 6:30 left in the first quarter, starting quarterback, Austin Howard, suffered a hit to the same knee that forced him to miss playing time earlier this season. Freshman quarterback John Lampley was substituted in the game temporarily. His poor performance led Southern to punt the ball.
An error on special teams gave Jackson State great field position in Jaguar territory with 4:30 in the first quarter. Southern’s defense was able to prevent giving up a touchdown, stifling JSU’s offense to only 6 yards. The Tigers settled for a field goal, making the score 10-7 in favor of Jackson State heading into the second quarter.
Standout senior defensive back, Danny Johnson, scored his second offensive touchdown for his career, this time by rushing into the endzone from the 5-yard line. The Jags assumed a 14-10 advantage at that point.
The ensuing possession showcased Southern’s ability to play an up-tempo, no huddle offense, moving the ball with ease.
After initially being stopped in the red zone, freshman receiver Kendall Catalon rushed for a 4-yard touchdown off of a fake field goal, making the score 21-10 in favor of SU with 6:35 remaining in the second quarter.
Sophomore defensive back, Montavious Gaines, later intercepted JSU quarterback Jordan Williams’ pass, placing the Jags on Jackson State’s 40-yard line with 5:00 left in the second quarter.
However, with under a minute left in the second quarter, Howard threw an interception inside their own red zone, keeping the Jaguars’ lead at 11.
The Jags’ no huddle offense showed itself again on the opening drive of the second half. The result was another touchdown drive, traveling 76 yards in 11 plays.
With 3:33 remaining in the third quarter, a Tiger touchdown made the score 28-17. Howard responded with a 5-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Jamar Washington, with 1:21 left in the third quarter, improving the score 35-17. The Jaguars defense proved to be a juggernaut in the second half, preventing the Tigers from converting on third down throughout the entire second half.
In the end, the Jags came out victorious with a final score of 35-17, putting Southern in control of their own destiny at 4-3 (2-1 SWAC). Southern has been victorious in the Boombox Classic for five years straight, increasing their all-time series advantage at 33-29.
When asked if the defense has been playing physical for the past three weeks, Head Coach Dawson Odums replied, “Not really, I thought today we missed entirely too many tackles. In order to accomplish the goals we have set we have to tackle better, very disappointed in the way we tackled and that’s the attitude guys have to be willing to stick their face in there to make tackles. Today we didn’t do a very good job with our angles, and we gave them a lot more yards than they should’ve had.”
Running back, Herbert Edwards, rushed for 163 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown. His ability to fight for every yard played a significant role in Saturday’s win.
When asked about his stellar performance, Edwards said, “Keeping my knees pumping, staying lower, keep the drive going, keep my feet turning after every bit of contact, so I wanted to work on that from last week to this week. That’s what I worked on last week falling forward. Being able to fall forward builds your confidence as a running back, it makes you feel great you want coach to keep giving you the ball like you can’t be stopped. But I have to give credit to my o-line, my o-linemen had a great game every time I looked up they were moving somebody, it’s because of them I had those long runs.”
Next week the defenders of the gold and blue will travel north of the state border to face fellow SWAC West division foe, Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Kickoff is scheduled to start at 4PM.