The Southern University Jaguars (1-3) faced off against the FAMU Rattlers (2-1) this evening in a very close game. Both teams spoke prior to about the other being an equal opponent that could easier take the game if mistakes were made. In the end, the Rattlers won the game but the Jaguars refused to go down easily.
The first quarter was a little rocky for the Jaguars as their defense was tested by FAMU. Quarterback, Ryan Stanley, completed a 26-yard pass to George Webb for the first touchdown of the night. Another 2-points were scored by Derrick Mayweather shortly after which left Southern down by nine early in the first quarter. With 2 minutes left in the quarter the Rattlers ended up scoring again with a short run by Azende Rey and pushed for a two-point conversion. Their attempt was successful and the score was now 17-0, FAMU. Southern’s defense seemed to be challenged this game, unlike the last, and could not find a rhythm early on. Their offense was also unable to put numbers on the board which typically isn’t the case for the Jaguars.
Glendon McDaniel was seen again this week and proved why he should be on the field alongside Ladarius Skelton. He put up the first points for the Jaguars in a 1-yard run that made the score 7-17 as the field goal was good. The Rattlers, on the other hand, did not seem to have quite the eventful quarter they may have expected. The only point they saw came at the end of the quarter from the team safety. With this uneventful quarter we entered half time and the score was now 19-7 with the Rattlers holding the lead.
The second half of the game brought back Jaguars’ starter Ladarius Skelton which was a good change at this point in the game. He was able to connect with Jamar Washington for a 23-yard pass and another Southern touchdown and successful field goal. Defensively, the Jaguars were able to start to come together and stop the Rattlers offense. FAMU experienced a tough quarter as they saw no new points on the board allowing Southern to close the gap. Ladarius Skelton started off the final quarter with a bang as he reminded the Rattlers he can run the ball as well as he can throw it. He scored the Jaguars second touchdown giving his team the lead for the first time as it was now 21-19, Southern. They were able to keep the lead for most of the fourth quarter but with three minutes left in the game Ryan Stanley found Xavier Smith for a 17-yard pass and the final touchdown of the game. The Rattlers went for a two-point conversion (Rey to Young) and it worked out for them making the final score 21-27, FAMU.
Ultimately, the Jaguars were challenged and simply not able to replicate their performance against Ed Waters. Skelton and McDaniel finished with 187-yards passing in the game which was not enough when comparing to FAMU’s Stanley and his 355 yards. Southern’s rushing leaders were Benn, Chaney and Nelson and the team finished with 69 yards. FAMU’s top three were Kendrick, Bonnett, and Jennings and the team finished with 78 yards which was a much closer performance to the Jaguars. There were also multiple picks this game for the Rattlers and this also hurt the Jaguars. The Southern University Jaguars will be back on the field next week to try and get another win and recover from the mistakes that were made this week.
