Lions, Tigers, and now the Bears

The Southern University Jaguars (3-6 overall, 3-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) will touch unfamiliar ground on the gridiron when they face the Golden Bears of Miles College (5-4 overall, 4-3 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) for the first time.
Coming off another disappointing loss-this time to the hands of Alcorn State, facing Miles will be the last chance that the Jags will have to finish their season at .500. If they lose any of their final three games, the Jags will face their first losing season under the tutelage of head coach Pete Richardson.
“We can’t lose anymore,” said quarterback Quincy Richard. “He’s done so much for us and the university…We are just going to have to go out there and finish what he’s started (in order to avoid a losing season).”
Coming back to familiar ground will be1990 Southern University alumnus and former quarterback Wade Streeter. Streeter is in his second year as head coach at Miles and after an experimental 4-7 season last year, he has started to gain respect throughout the NCAA Division II and the SIAC with his current record and team statistics this season.
“I am very excited to come back to my alma mater and play against them,” said Streeter. “Playing Coach Richardson and Southern is a chance that I am ready for. Everyone wants to play against Southern. I can use our play against the Jags as a measuring tool to see where we are…even though we are a Division II school.”
Furthermore, he doesn’t plan on taking the Jaguars lightly.
“Although Southern is struggling this year, I told them (the team) not to take Southern lightly,” said Streeter. “Southern could easily have six wins instead of six losses this season; they have played some pretty good teams and in close games.”
Southern will be facing a Miles squad that averages 327 total offense yards per game, which places them third in their conference. Southern could become their own enemies falling victim to the careless mistakes that has them averaging a loss of 69 yards per game due to penalties and a second in the SWAC.
To combat the bad points, runningback Richard Peoples is there to provide the good. Peoples leads the conference in rushing averaging 74 yards per game. Stopping Miles’ offense will be a task that senior defensive back Herman Hartman should be ready for. But is Miles ready for Hartman?
Hartman leads the SWAC among tackles by defensive backs with 70 and is sixth in the SWAC overall. He is not the only one that the Golden Bears need to prepare for. Junior cornerback Lenny Williams is fourth overall in the SWAC among the backs with 60 tackles and senior linebacker Chris Cooper is in the top ten in the conference with 12 tackles for a loss of 33 total yards.
Sophomore defensive lineman Perry Davis is seventh in the SWAC among other ends and lineman in the conference with 33 tackles and two sacks. Junior linebacker Jabari Greene also makes a presence in the SWAC with three fumble recoveries and one sack and 55 tackles.
With a win, the Jags are still in the hunt for the SWAC Championships, if Cooper has anything to do with it. But he has his own solution for an end to Southern’s losing.
“We’re going to have to practice hard and then play hard,” said Cooper. “Then hopefully we won’t come up short again.