Southern found themselves in the SWAC Championship after being picked to finish 4th in the SWAC West Division. However, one bitter rival stood in the Jaguars’ way, which was Jackson State. Southern has not had the best history when Jackson State, lost the last 5 matchups before this one. The last time the two teams faced in the SWAC Championship was 2022, losing 43-24. However, the Jags came into this game to get some payback from vicious defeats since the fall season of 2021.
Southern did start strong, holding Jackson State to a field goal in the first quarter. Southern wouldn’t score until the second quarter, coming from a 38-yard field goal by senior kicker Joshua Griffin. Southern would gain the momentum briefly, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown rushing touchdown by redshirt freshman Czavian Teasett, allowing Southern to lead 3-10. However, Jackson would snatch back the momentum, executing a two-minute drill to tie the game at 10.
In the second half, Southern couldn’t get anything going, and Jackson State would showcase their dominance. Jackson State made a quarterback switch from Jacobian Morgan to Zy McDonald. McDonald added a boost to the Jackson State running game by having 100 yards on 8 rushing attempts and a touchdown. The Jackson State running back Irv Mulligan complemented McDonald’s effort by having 121 yards on 23 rushing attempts with a rushing touchdown. Southern also turned the ball over 3 times in the second half. Jackson State scored 3 touchdowns in the second half compared to Southern having a field goal, resulting in Southern losing 41-13.
Teasett led the team in rushing in passing, having 127 yards passing and 56 yards rushing with a touchdown. Junior defensive end Ckelby Givens had a sack and tackle for a loss while having 6 tackles. Junior defensive back Horacio Johnson did have an interception in the game.
Head Coach Terrance Graves spoke to the media about where the game took a turn for the worse.
Senior running back Kendric Rhymes was emotional at the press conference when speaking to the media about the game. “Teammates came out, and we fought hard, but we didn’t get the ending results that we wanted to, but at the end of the day, we came out and we fought hard. Jackson State is a good team, and we knew we were a great team too. At the end of the day, we lost because of our mistakes, not because of nothing Jackson State did… hats off to Jackson.”
Senior linebacker Derrick Williams spoke to the media about Southern’s execution. “We were well prepared, it was just situations where guys didn’t execute.”
Southern has now lost 5 straight championships, 6 straight against Jackson State, and 4 straight in Jackson. Graves was ensuring the future was bright for Southern football
