Southern Falls to Grambling in Bayou Classic

The seasons of both Grambling University and Southern University have led to this final game of the regular season, and that is the Bayou Classic. Both teams enter into this game undefeated in the SWAC West division with the winner of this game going to the SWAC championship game. Grambling enters the game with a 9-1 record and are currently ranked 14 in the national FCS polls. The Jaguars enter this game with an 8-2 record and looking to head to that championship game that follows the bayou classic. Both teams bring explosive offenses to the table as well as strong defenses.

In the first quarter of play, southern went to work quickly and started their first drive with good field position from a penalty from the kickoff. After making a quick dive down the field, Austin Howard completed an 18 yard pass to Willie Quinn for the first touchdown of the game. The extra point was missed by Albuquerque which made the score 6-0 after the first drive. Grambling received the ball and made a quick run for the opposite side of the field as Kincade threw a 58 yard pass to Jordan Jones. From there after a few plays, Martez Carter ran in an 11 yard score for Grambling; the extra point was made and Tigers were ahead of the Jaugars 7-6. On the next drive by the Jaguars, key plays were made by Willy Quinn and Lenard Tillery to help the jaguars get into the red zone. Tillery was given more carries and went even further to the endzone, but southern came up short here as Howard attempted to run the ball in for a touchdown and lost the ball just a few inches before the goal line, resulting in a touchback.

The following drive by southern would end in the first interception of the game and would give Grambling the ball with great field position. Grambling would then score on a 32 yard pass from Williams that game the tigers the 14-6 lead over southern; this would be the score at the end of the first quarter.

With the second quarter underway, the southern defense went against Grambling as the tigers went down the field in a drive that ended in a field goal. The defense for southern had some great stops that avoided the touchdown. The jaguars stepped up on defense once again on the following Grambling drive as they made key stops and prevented the tigers from gaining yards. The final play of that drive resulted in a sack. With the ball back in the hands of the Jaguars, the ball would be given to Tillery and he would run the ball for an amazing 85 yard touchdown. He would shorten the tiger lead to 17-13 and that would also be the score once the first half concluded.

Halftime at the Bayou Classic was filled with an entertaining performance by both bands. These performances were exciting to watch and had all fans on their feet. The third quarter commenced with the ball in Grambling’s hands. They would drive the ball on mainly running plays which concluded in a 45 yard rushing touchdown from Kincade. Grambling extended the lead further by a score of 24-13.

Southern would attempt to answer back with a score of their own, and came close with plays from Beard and Tillery. The jaguars decided to go for it on 4^th and 2 but came up short by a few inches, turning the ball over back to Grambling. After losing the ball over on downs, Carter of Grambling ran a 66 yard touchdown score to extend the tiger lead at 31-13. The jaguars found trouble in keeping their offence on the field, and it did not take long for Grambling to get the ball back. Once they did Brooks of the tigers ran in a 34 yard touchdown to make the score 38-13. The jaguars would kick the ball back to Grambling shortly after but the punt return would be fumbled and Southern would retrieve the ball deep in tiger territory. With that excellent field position Austin Howard would complete a pass to Tillery for 14 yards for another Southern touchdown. When the quarter came to an end the score would be 38-20 with Grambling in the lead.

The fourth quarter would begin with Grambling showing more strong offense with help from Kincade. He would later complete a pass to Williams for a 7 yard score to put the tigers up even further ahead of the jaguars. Southern would recover a fumble made by a good defensive play and take over close to the end zone. The jaguars fell short of scoring a touchdown but did punch in the field goal by Albuquerque. On the next play the jaguars would kick off the ball and have that returned for a touchdown by Carter of Grambling. The kickoff return was for 88 yards. With time winding down and the game looking like it would go Grambling’s way, Southern was looking to end on a positive note, and they would do just that. After driving down the field the jaguars would score with seconds left in the game by a pass from Howard to Piro.

The jaguars would fall to the tigers in this game by a score of 52-30 but it was a great game by both teams and was entertaining for all who came and watched. This game ends the regular season for Southern. They finish 8-3 and this is their fourth year with a winning record.