Box Score
BATON ROUGE – It was a humid 90 degrees for playing football isnormal for this time of the year in south Louisiana but no one could predict,that the defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champions, the SouthernUniversity Jaguars would be in a seesaw battle with Mississippi Valley Statewho finished last season with a 2-9 record.
It was a 15-yard touchdown run by senior running back GeraldHolmes with 7:26 to play that gave the struggling Jaguars a 17-14 win, over theDelta Devils, at A.W. Mumford Stadium front of 20,463 fans.
“We made a lot of mistakes, we have a long ways to go with someyoung people,” said Southern head coach Pete Richardson. “But we hung in and made the plays weneeded to. We just have to go back next week, work on the basic fundamentalsand get ready to play.”
Southern started the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown pass fromThomas Ricks to James Vernon with 8:17 to play in the first quarter. Southern’sBreck Ackley then added a 41-yard field goal to give the Jaguars a 10-0 lead atthe end of the first quarter.
MVSU then scored on a 6-yard pass from Aries Nelson to KendrickWade with 12:15 to play before halftime. MVSU’s freshman kicker John Zdonekmissed a 36-yard field goal attempt, which floated wide right.
“I think it could have been a major turning point in the game,”Zdonek said. “Giving us momentum and at the end of the game we wouldn’t have to needed to score another touchdown. Iaccept the responsibility for it the most.”
MVSU took the lead in the second half on a Marcus April 1-yard runwith 4:10 to play in the third quarter.
With 9:12 left in regulation and with Southern down 14-10, seniorlinebacker Don Expose blocked a punt kick, which was recovered by sophomorelinebacker David Brookes on the 32-yard line.
“I just came through the hole it was wide open,” Expose said. “Itook my chance to make a difference, I just jumped and thank god my hand hitthe ball.”
Five plays later Southern scored on the Holmes touchdown run.Holmes finished the game with 105 yards on 24 carries while Steel Adams rushedfor 33 yards on seven carries. Inonly his second collegiate start Ricks finished the game 18 or 32 for 128 yardsand an interception. Vernon finished with 60 yards on 8 catches.
For MVSU, Nelson finished the game 17 of 34 for 192 yards, butfrequently burned the Jaguars defense by rushing for 65 yards on 11 attempts,mostly scrambling from the pocket. Clifford Carter collected a game high 6catches for 82 yards.
Southern raised its record to 1-1 overall as the game didn’t countas a conference contest because of scheduling fiasco by Arkansas-Pine Bluff whichcause a ruling by the SWAC to try to correct and balance the schedulingmistake. The game did count as a conference game for Mississippi Valley, whodropped to 0-2 overall, 0-2 in conference play.
The Jaguars will next face the undefeated Panthers of Prairie ViewA&M in Houston’s Reliant Stadium, on Saturday, September 18, at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES
Southern freshman defensive back Kendall Aguillard fractured hisleft leg on the opening kick starting the second half of the game and seniordefensive end Kevin Mack he strained his right achilles.
A trumpet player of the Southern University Marching Band played Taps,the honorary military bugle call, and there was a moment of silence held inhonor of the victims of the September 11th airline crashed that tumbled theWorld Trade Center Towers in New York City.
