The Southern University Jaguars football team will take on Mississippi Valley State University at A.W. Mumford Stadium at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Last year Southern the 2003 Southwestern Athletic Conference champions and Black College champions defeated Mississippi Valley 29-0 in Jackson, Miss.
The game is a SWAC opener for both teams but will only count towards standings for the Delta Devils (0-1 overall, 0-1 SWAC), but not for the Jaguars (0-1 overall, 0-0 SWAC).
“The keys for this game is, I think we have to improve our consistency,” Southern head football coach Pete Richardson said.
Both teams are looking for their first win of the season. On September 3, a day of season openers, Southern lost 35-17 to the 2003 defending Southland Conference champions McNeese State Cowboys at Mumford Stadium. The game was the first meeting ever of both Louisiana teams. Mississippi Valley received their loss from Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 49-14.
Southern was down by eight at the end of the first half of the McNeese game(18-10) with the help of a last second touchdown pass thrown by senior quarterback Thomas Ricks (his first ever collegiate touchdown and finished with 276 passing yards) but was outscored 17-7 in the second half. Junior wide receiver James Vernon had 145 yards in receiving and junior running back Gerald Holmes rushed for 107 yards.
“Overall I thought it (McNeese vs. Southern) was a good game for us,” Richardson said. “And I think some of the positive aspects of that football game is we wanted to come out of the game with no major injuries and I thought we did that.”
