This week is what Jaguars fans have been waiting for, the first home game of the 2019 season! Southern University will be facing the Edward Waters Tigers in a battle between two great HBCU football programs. Southern is coming off two highly competitive games against McNeese and Memphis and is looking for their first win of the season. There is no better place to make it happen than A. W. Mumford Stadium on a Saturday night! The Jaguars have shown a very solid running game in their last two match ups and with their experienced team could take this one home. The Tigers also came off a very close game against Morehouse College so it should be an intense, eventful competition between these teams. On top of the battle on the field there will be a battle of the HBCU bands as Edward Waters has an exclusively HBCU schedule this year. They are looking to show off their talents in all areas from sports to music so let’s see how the Tigers band will stand up to widely respected and recognized, Human Jukebox of Southern University.
The Edward Waters Tigers are looking to continue to improve and grow in this 2019 season. There was a big difference in their 2017 and 2018 season when Coach Greg Ruffin came into the picture but still didn’t see the success they were looking for. A big factor that was felt all last season was their abundance of freshman, therefore leaving a lot of room to learn and experience college football. Ruffin hopes that going through a whole season gave the team the experience needed to face off against their opponents. One thing the Tigers are looking to improve is their passing game as their completion percentage was below a 50% in 2018. Ruffin is looking forward to playing the Jaguars as he knows after the last two games they will be hungry for a win but he feels his team is ready willing to represent their school to the best of their ability. Roshard Branch served as the quarterback against Morehouse last week and is one of the people saw the field plenty last year. Unfortunately, their passing game still did not seem too strong last week as many of the passes gave way to very, very short gains so will see if that improves against the Jaguars this week. Another player Coach Ruffin is hoping can have a great season and be a reliable man on the field is Matthew Wilkers who will be playing both tight end and defensive end for the Tigers. He did not see too much action in the Morehouse game but Branch was able to complete a 27-yard pass to him. There was no “go-to” man for the Tigers as Branch appears to move the ball around and give as many people as possible the opportunity to make a play.
As for your Southern University Jaguars, they faced a talented Memphis team this past weekend and are pushing for a strong comeback. It is known that Southern is looking for their experienced, returning players to help carry this team into a chance at a championship and the pressure on their defense at all times. The Jaguars will look to capitalize on the Tigers weaker passing game and keep them from running the ball this week. Last week, Ladarius Skelton was undoubtedly a leader and did his job as he rushed for 75 yards and passed to Jeremias Houston for one of their 3 touchdowns. It is clear Skelton is a dual threat quarterback that will perform when his team needs him to but Southern still worked in their other quarterback, Glendon McDaniel, who was noted as having an amazing off-season and camp this summer. Devon Benn rushed for 36 yards this game so fans can only hope he continues to perform and have an amazing season for the second year in a row. Jamar Washington and Craig Nelson both had just over 20 yards individually so it is clear their rushing game is their strong suit. On the receiving side, Hunter Register lead the Jaguars with 48 yards, just over half of their total receiving yards. Behind Register on the receiving list was T Bedford who finished with 13 yards for the night. Southern’s offense seemed to have some trouble finding a breakout point against Memphis’ defense, especially in the second half. This will be something for them to focus on this upcoming week as well as continuing to strengthen their passing game. The Jaguars have shown a lot of tenacity and with the support, atmosphere, and feeling of being home they will definitely have a reason to push even harder against Edward Waters.
Be sure to come out and support your Southern Jaguars this Saturday at 6pm at A. W. Mumford Stadium and hope those Tigers see why Louisiana is THE standard in college football.
