SWAC Football Highlights

By Uba Okereke

Late Special Teams Fumble Dooms Jackson State

Grambling State held on to upset Jackson State 26-23 last Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The first 14:27 of the first half was ho-hum as both teams were tied 6-6 late in the second quarter.

Frank Rivers threw a 73-yard TD pass to Mario Louis with 33 seconds left in the quarter to give Grambling a 12-6 halftime lead.

Jackson State (7-2, 5-2 SWAC) scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to lead 16-12.

Both teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Jackson State leading 23-19 at the 7:08 mark. Grambling (5-4, 4-3) punted the ball following a three-and-out to JSU’s Antonio Sutton, who fumbled, giving the ball back to the Tigers at the Jackson State 18-yard line.

Dawrence Roberts scored a few plays later from 10 yards out to give Grambling a 26-23 lead with 1:24 left in the game.

Casey Therriault led JSU on the final drive of the game with seconds remaining to the Grambling 14. The Tigers opted to go for the win instead of the game-tying field goal and Therriault’s pass went long.

Roberts rushed for 201 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns for Grambling State.

Therriault finished with 400 yards passing and two touchdowns on 34 of 55 completions.

Alabama State Maintains First Place in SWAC East With Win

Alabama State ruined homecoming for Arkansas-Pine Bluff with a 28-12 win last Saturday afternoon.

Tim Clark opened the scoring for the Hornets with a two-yard TD run on the game’s first drive.

Devin Dominguez threw a 51-yard TD pass to Nehemiah Henry to give Alabama State a 14-0 lead with 3:57 remaining. Both teams did not score in the second quarter and the ASU lead remained the same at halftime.

Clark added two more touchdowns in the second half with runs of seven and 71 yards to give the Hornets a commanding 28-3 third quarter lead.

Justin Billings scored on a 40-yard TD run and Chris Ewald made two field goals for the Golden Lions (4-5, 3-4).

Dominguez passed for 254 yards and one touchdown while Clark rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns for the Hornets.

Alabama State remained in first place in the SWAC Eastern Division with the 16-point win.

Benjamin Anderson led UAPB with 31 of 48 passing for 274 yards and two interceptions including one that ended a 15-play, 70 yard drive to the ASU six late in the first half.

Texas Southern Beats Southern on Senior Night

Riko Smalls’ three total TDs helped Texas Southern defeat Southern 29-15 last Saturday night in Houston.

The Tigers led 15-0 in the second quarter and never trailed for the remainder of the game.

Jaguars’ quarterback J.P. Douglas connected with Jared Green on a 50-yard touchdown pass late in the quarter. Texas Southern led 15-8 at halftime.

The Tigers (4-5, 2-5 SWAC) increased their lead to 22-7 early in the third quarter on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Smalls to Artie Collins.

Southern (3-6, 3-4) came within seven of the TSU lead when Douglas threw to Michael Berry for 24 yards but did not get any closer.

Smalls later connected with Joe Anderson for a 13-yard touchdown pass in the quarter for the final score.

Smalls led the game in passing going for 26 of 39 for 365 yards and rushing with 71 yards.

Texas Southern played their final game at Houston Independent School District’s Delmar Stadium and move into a brand-new stadium slated for September 2012.

Douglas completed 16 of 35 for 207 yards and was sacked four times.