We Are The Champions!

To view the DIGEST photo essay from the SWAC Championship game click here!  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Southern University (12-1 overall, 7-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) allowed Alabama State wide receiver Reginald Glover to score on a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Fortson with 1:02 remaining in regulation, but the Hornets (8-5 overall, 5-3 SWAC) score was not enough to keep the Jags from winning their 19th Southwestern Athletic Conference title in their 20-9 victory.
“It finally feels good to get our first title since 1999,” said Jags‚ defensive back Lenny Williams. “This is recognition for the hard work that we have done this year.”
Williams had one fumble recovery and led the team with eight tackles.
Before a crowd of 31,617 fans and in frigid 30-degree and rainy weather, Jags‚ head coach and SWAC Coach of the Year Pete Richardson got his fifth conference title in his 11th year of coaching at Southern.
“It‚s great to end the season like this,” Richardson said. “Regardless of how many titles, it always feels good to win.”
Southern scored on their first opening drive for the 11th time this season when kicker Montie Ackley‚s field goal ignited a 17-3 first half run.
Alabama State quarterback Tavaris Jackson tried to get the ball moving for the Hornets but five false-start penalties in the first half put a damper on any offensive action.
With 4:14 on the clock, Jags‚ wide receiver Alfred Ard caught his conference leading 13th touchdown off a 33-yard pass thrown by Southern quarterback Quincy Richard.
After defensive back Eddie Woods intercepted a Hornets‚ pass intended for the Jags went up by 17 when Richard delivered an 11-yard pitch to wide receiver Drayton Bridges with six minutes left in the half.
“It was cold, so the defense had to step up,” Woods said. „We knew they were going to try to shove the ball down our throats and the secondary had to step up.”
An interception by ASU defensive end Myrick Cole provided an opportunity for the Hornets to get on the scoreboard before halftime, but a 47-yard field goal by kicker Anthony Johnson averted a first half shutout.
“Offensively we just didn‚t execute,” said Hornets‚ coach Charles Coe. “We had problems on special teams and we just didn‚t play a good football game.”
Richard suffered a right groin injury and a left hip injury during the second quarter, but managed to come back into the second half for seven plays, setting up a 27-yard field goal by Ackley.
Richard finished the game completing 17 of 28 for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked three times and intercepted once before Richardson sent in back-up quarterback Thomas Ricks to replace him. Ricks finished the game 2 of 6 for 29 yards.
“I am just happy that I was able to execute before I got hurt,” Richard said. “We worked hard to get here and I am just happy I was able to be a part of this.”
Alabama State missed opportunities and constant miscues continued to stop them from scoring.
In the second quarter, a 33-yd touchdown reception by wide receiver Chad Lucas was called back due to a delay of game penalty. In the beginning of the third quarter, a dropped pass by wide receiver Glover in the end zone prevented the Hornets from scoring again. The Hornets also suffered from 10 penalties for a loss of 64 yards.
At the beginning of the third quarter, quarterback Nick Fortson relieved Jackson, but after two plays, Southern linebacker Eddie Green ended the Hornets‚ offensive drive when he recovered Fortson‚s fumble. Fortson left the game 5 of 10 with two interceptions for 102 yards and was sacked twice.
The Southern secondary continued to put pressure on Alabama State‚s receivers while the defensive line continued to stifle Fortson‚s efforts to effectively deliver the ball and caused the Hornets defense to fumble three times. With 8:42 left in the game, Southern defensive back D’Angelo Lewis intercepted a pass intended for Lucas on the two-yard line.
The interception gave Jags rusher Kenneth Peoples a chance to collect 1,010 rushing yards this season, becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher since 1999.
The win gave Southern its first 12-win season since 1948, when A.W. Mumford led the Jags to a 12-0 season and the third of a streak of five straight conference titles.