Southern Tanks in the SWAC: Loses to Prairie View

It was senior day on the bluff, but a lot more was on the line for Southern as they could not afford to lose, as it would mean elimination from the SWAC Championship. Going into the game Saturday the Jaguars were the favorites to come out on top, but the Panthers had other plans to keep their SWAC championship dreams alive as well by beating Southern.
The game started off to a slow start between both teams, but it was the Panthers who would strike first with a 60-yard touchdown reception. Near the end of the first quarter, the Jaguars finally answered with junior running back Kendric Rhymes scoring a 7-yard rushing touchdown. Rhymes finished the game with 22 carries for 70 rushing yards and a touchdown. Coming in the mid-2nd quarter, the Panthers were up 10-7 until Southern’s sophomore running back Braelen Morgan made his season return to the field, stepping up on special teams and helping on offense that helped the Jaguars’ Kobe Dillion rush for a touchdown that gave southern the 14-10 lead. Being an impact player with the speed that Morgan is, he stated, “I’m happy to be back, and it’s all about being the team player that whatever my team needs me to do that will get the job done and secure the win.”
This past season, one of the Jaguars’ major problems has been quarterback play, and Head Coach Eric Dooley gave a slight change of scenery. Harold Blood split a few snaps with backup Noah Bodden, but that wasn’t enough to overcome Prairie View as Blood finished by attempting 14/19 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Bodden completed 4/7 passes with 99 yards. Now, heading into halftime, Southern took the lead with a last-second touchdown catch from senior wide receiver August Pitre III, which gave the lead 21-17. Pitre also was the team’s leading receiver, with 6 catches for 54 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, the Jaguars came out on top with the only turnover of the game, which was a fumble recovered by sophomore linebacker Derrick Williams. This game took such a competitive turn on both teams because it showed how badly who wanted it more, and by late 4th quarter, the Panthers took advantage of the punts from Southern that led them to get a chance to not only score a touchdown, but also a 3-point field goal to extend the lead that led to the final minutes of the game. Prairie View retained the ball back from the Jaguars on their final drive in the 4th quarter. The Jags would lose 21-27, meaning no chance at a SWAC Championship.
After the game, the Southern Digest caught up with Coach Dooley, and he felt that sophomore backup quarterback Noah Bodden was ready to take some snaps, splitting the series with Blood this past game. Dooley commented, “Well, they were going to get two series a piece, depending on how it unfolded. We worked them a little bit more in practice, so we had the opportunity to see the looks he would probably get. We felt that he was ready for it at that time.” However, one problem from the game relies on the offensive line, which still has not caused Southern to build that solid brick wall yet and make moves for the backfield to make plays. Could the loss against Prairie View A&M affect coach Dooley’s job soon? Or will the program stick with him still heading into the 50th annual Bayou Classic game versus Grambling State University? The Jags will now go on a bye week in preparation for the 50th Annual Bayou Classic against Grambling State University.