SU makes a home out of the unexpected

Let’s take a brief stroll down memory lane. There’s a remaining time of 6:08 in the third quarter and your down by 20 points on the road, getting beaten in every phase of the game, and overcast skies indicating a torrential downpour lie ahead.
Alabama A&M quarterback Jaymason Lee is thoroughly picking the defense apart, orchestrating his offense in a “Mozart-esque” manner, finishing the first half with 293 yards of offense, attaining 19 first downs, while converting 7-of-11 on third downs. You’ve lost one of your key players on the offensive line, Zach Brown, who was carted off the field on a stretcher with a neck stinger that had fans on both sides praying vehemently.
For the coaching staff, it’s not exactly what you envisioned while making the seven-hour drive to Huntsville, Alabama on Thursday night and as a player, it’s certainly not circumstances conducive to yielding a positive result at the day’s end.
However for the Southern University football team, they have seemed to find an unusual solace amidst the most adverse of conditions. Dating back to last season, when the Jaguars found a way to dig themselves out of a 22-point hole against Prairie View A&M and outlast this same Bulldog squad in double Overtime after trailing by three with under a minute remaining in regulation.
Southern’s extraordinary comeback victory on Saturday afternoon, a game in which they scored the final 21 points, is a microcosm of the “resilient” identity Southern head coach Dawson Odums and his players rightfully carved out for themselves.
“I met with the team last week and told them that a roller coaster is designed to have ups and downs. We need to continue to climb and stay positive. We don’t want to have setbacks, when you have setbacks me you’re declining again. Then you have to work harder to come back up. So I think to put two wins back-to-back, I think that’s great for this football team,” said Odums.
The enthusiasm came in the second half from the most unfortunate series of events. In what appeared to be a routine offensive play, the game took an excruciating turn when SU’s senior leader laid motionless on the grass, and showed no indication of getting back up. Coach Odums came onto the field while players, some joining hands, stood on one knee hoping their fallen soldier would rise.
After a 15-minute delay, Brown moved his arm and indicated to Coach Odums that he would be “ok”, and was taken away by ambulance to a local hospital. Shortly after, Alabama A&M stretched their lead to 34-14 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Lee to his tight end Johnathan Dorsey.
“Everybody on the sideline was encouraging each other, and we said, ‘We’re going to do this for Zach,” said safety Dionte McDuffy.
Southern soon regained their composure and scored two consecutive touchdowns that ignited a comeback, capped off by Malcom Crockett’s 1-yard touchdown with less than a minute to play, that could very well be season defining. With three offensive players returning in recent weeks from injury: Running backs Malcom Crockett and Jamarcus Jarvis, to go along with speedy wide receiver Mike Jones, opposing SWAC defenses won’t be able to key in on SU’s biggest playmaker, the dynamic Willie Quinn.
On the defensive side, several players in the secondary that missed the past few games due to academic certification issues have now returned: safety Dionte McDuffy, and defensive backs D’Andre Woodland, Kevin King, and Jaleel Richardson. Those players returning to the field, to complement the core group that has valiantly fought in their absence, may prove to be critical as Southern continues to battling every week to stay afloat in what has become the “Wild, Wild Western division” in the SWAC.
“We’re growing up. Look at the pieces of this puzzle, we get a new piece every week so we’ll keep trying to pull it together. We understood the moment, all we told them was everybody has to keep doing their 1-11. If you do your job, everything else will take care of itself,” said Odums.
Though this season has possessed ebbs-and-flows at an alarming rate, Southern’s primary goal of making it to Houston in December is still intact, trailing Grambling State by one game in their divisional race for first place. Their fate may very well be decided in November, in what would be the most significant Bayou Classic game played between the two teams since 2003.
With Grambling coming off a huge upset of SWAC frontrunner Alcorn State this past week, that feat may be an uphill climb. But since 2013, SU has made all obstacles and tribulations a dwelling place. And ironically, the key to Southern’s success will be their ability to take advantage of playing at home, since next weekend’s matchup against rival Jackson State will be the final time the Jaguars leave the state of Louisiana. It’s uncertain whether this unpredictable team will pull together during this final stretch and hold down their home turf, and for this Jaguars football team, they would not wish to have it any other way.