Adams rushes Jags past JSU

Box Score
The revival of senior running back Steel Adams running game allowed the Southern University Jaguars to extend their two-game winning streak to four against Jackson State University on Saturday with a 20-14 win. Southern (2-3, 2-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) earned their second win of the season, while Jackson State (2-4, 2-2 SWAC) fell back in the eastern division after losing two straight conference games.
A knee injury caused starter sophomore running back Larry Nichols to sit out while Adams carried the ball 37 times for 155 yards. By halftime, Adams had 21 carries for 107 yards.
“It was a life saver,” Adams said. “I really can’t say much, it just feels good.”
The Jaguars have been struggling to get their running game up to par, but injuries and other setbacks have earned them the conference’s worst running game, averaging only 51.5 yards per game. Meanwhile, they are third in passing offense and scoring offense. Jackson State, on the other hand, had a total of 49 yards in rushing in the game.
“We still ran the ball on them as well as we could,” Adams said. “Next week, we’re going to try to bring back it up against Alcorn.”
Saturday, Southern rushed a total of 183 yards.
“Steel did a great job running the ball,” said Jaguars’ sophomore quarterback J.C. Lewis. “He made plays, broke tackles and he looked real good out there. In the end we were able to come out with the win.”
Lewis threw for 231 yards and completed 24 of his 32 passes and threw one interception. He contributed nine rushing yards and scored twice on quarterback keepers, while junior Breck Ackley kicked two field goals.
In the second half, the Jaguars could only get a 37-yard field goal kick for a 13-7 lead with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter.
“My offensive line did a great job,” Lewis said. “We were able to run the ball, so it took a lot of pressure off the passing game.”
Lewis gave the Jaguars a jump in the first quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run. A second quarter fumble by Adams allowed Tigers’ senior quarterback Steven Haren to complete a 7-yard pass to sophomore fullback Brandon Montgomery, tying the score 7-7 with 10:52 remaining in the first half.
An interception at the Jackson State 1-yard line by Tigers’ senior defensive back Cletis Gordon, the SWAC’s interception leader, wasn’t enough to stop the Jaguars from scoring again with a 35-yard field goal with 1:06 left until halftime. Gordon also had eight tackles.
After a 2-yard run into the end zone by Lewis, Tigers’ senior tailback Curtis Hayes scored on a 1-yard run with 1:56 left on the clock in the third quarter. Harden completed 18 of his 32 passes for 208 yards and was intercepted once by senior safety Denard Duheart.
Southern sophomore rusher Devin Herbert added 19-yards with seven carries, while redshirt freshman Evan Alexander had 64yards on seven catches.
Senior Joe Sykes had eight tackles and three sacks, while freshman Toyin Akinwale, senior Lionel Howard and senior Keshawn Conner had one sack apiece. Duheart had five tackles and one interception.