Southern University Upsets Alabama State 45-34

By: Chassity Oubre
        After a much needed bye week, Southern University Jaguars football team took to the road again. This time the road stopped in Montgomery, Alabama, where the Jaguars took on the Alabama State Hornets in a conference game. The Hornets were coming off of a two game winning streak, while the Jaguars were coming off a hard loss to then ranked No.7 Georgia Bulldogs two weeks ago. Southern football team responded quite well after a very emotional bye week due to the devastating injury to teammate Devon Gales. The Jaguars stated that they would dedicate the rest of the season to Gales and wanted to honor him by going out and winning each game. The Jaguars tallied up 45 points in four quarters as they blasted the Hornets to the tune of 45-34. Southern’s quarterback Austin Howard continued his outstanding play by accounting for six scores in the game. Howard passed for four touchdowns and ran for two more. He finished passing for 360 yards on 33 completions out of 45 attempts. Also, superstar Willie Quinn had another great game even though he did not hit pay dirt for the Jaguars against the Hornets, but he did lead all receivers with 146 yards with 12 receptions. The Jaguars led the whole game and scored double-digit points in every quarter except the second. The Jaguars defense held the Hornets scoreless the entire first half before allowing them to score all their points in the last two frames. Southern’s “Dog Day Defense” was spearheaded by defensive back Dionte McDuffy and linebacker Kentavious Preston. Mcduffy had ten total tackles, while Preston had eight and one sack. The Jaguars post a record of 3-0 in SWAC play and 3-2 overall. Next up for the Jaguars is homecoming, where they will be taking on the Prairie View A&M Panthers, Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium. The game is slated for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff.