Gaining Ground: Jaguars Rip Bulldogs

The Southern Jaguars’ football team (2-3, 0-1 SWAC) headed into their homecoming week matchup versus the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (2-3, 2-0 SWAC) with one major question: could the team maintain control of the game for an entire 60 minutes?
It is important to note that Southern has faced their fair share of woes during the 2017-2018 season. One being the lack of a spring football program that has put them behind in terms of conditioning. Also, losses to Southern Miss and UT-San Antonio forced the Jags to revamp their depth chart. Nevertheless, the Jaguars prowled into this week’s game with high expectations.
To top it all off, Hurricane Nate was supposedly on its way.
Last Saturday, questions were answered. It was evident from the first possession that the Jaguars wanted to impose their will on the ground, before allowing play action and screen passes to open the air attack. Coupled with a stout defensive performance, the result was an impressive 35-14 victory last Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium.
“We are finally getting the right evaluations on film to be able to put people in the right place,” said Head Coach Dawson Odums following the win.
Redshirt senior running back Herbert “Herb” Edwards became the team’s season leading rusher after producing 120 yards on 23 carries against the Bulldogs.
He also scored his first two touchdowns of the season.
“It felt great finally getting in [the end zone] for my team,” Edwards said during the postgame press conference.
The offensive line, led by senior, Christian Rodriguez, and redshirt sophomore, Jaylon Brinson, controlled the line of scrimmage.
Southern maintained the edge in time of possession throughout the game.
Following a subpar performance two weeks ago against Alcorn State who rushed for over 400 yards, Alabama A&M was only able to muster 251 yards of total offense.
Senior linebacker, Kentavius Preston, led the defense in tackles, with defensive lineman, Aaron Tiller, adding a sack and tackle for loss to his stellar senior campaign.
Alabama A&M had a slow start in the first half, which forced them to play from behind the entire game. It did not help that the Bulldogs had more yards from penalties (118) than they had rushing (52).
Standout senior defensive back, Danny Johnson, even found time to make an offensive appearance.
He scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback, Austin Howard, in the second quarter for his first career reception and receiving touchdown as a member of the Jags. Johnson also sealed the win with an interception returned for another touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Austin Howard finished the game with 2 touchdowns and no turnovers, completing 17 of his 27 passing attempts for nearly 200 yards. His other touchdown pass went to true freshman wide receiver, Kendall Catalon, one of three freshmen wide receivers who started in front of the home crowd of over 15,000.
The Southern Jaguars now head into the bye week (3-3), with their season goals still within reach. “The heart of the program has always been to play well in October, to give yourself a chance in November,” says Coach Odums.
Edwards is eager to top last week’s output. “There is never a level of content as an offense. We always want more.”
With this win, the Jaguars extend their current home game winning streak to eight overall, six conference wins and two non-conference. Their last loss at home, was against Alcorn State, on October 31, 2015.
The Jags’ next matchup is October 21. They travel to Jackson, Mississippi. to take on Jackson State in the Boombox Classic.