Showdown in Windy City for Jaguars and Delta Devils

By Troy Treasure, Delta Democrat Times

Delta Devils, Jaguars both 1-0 prior to meeting at Soldier Field in Chicago

ITTA BENA - Two Southwestern Athletic Conference teams fresh off season-opening wins are headed for a showdown Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Mississippi Valley State (1-0, 1-0) and Southern (1-0, 0-0) meet in a 4 p.m. kickoff.

This marks the third straight year for Valley to play in the Chicago Football Classic.

The Delta Devils are 2-0 in their first two appearances, beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Chicago the past two years.

MVSU coach Willie Totten believes that gives his team an edge over Southern.

“There are some distractions with a trip like this, but we know what goes into it. Our guys know it's all business when we get to Chicago,” Totten said.

It appears Valley's defense will get another test.

In MVSU's 16-9 Week 1 victory against UAPB, the Delta Devils' defense held the Golden Lions to 70 yards on 37 carries, a meager 1.9 yards per rush.

Photo: Mississippi Valley State's Ronald Brewer tries to avoid a tackle from Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Anton Williams in last week's season opener in Itta Bena. The Delta Devils won 16-9.

In Southern's 33-27 win against Florida A&M, the Jaguars pounded out 238 rushing yards, 5.5 per carry and four touchdowns. However, 90 of the total came on a 90-yard touchdown run by Darren Coates.

However, Southern's defense was not exactly the Great Wall of China against Florida A&M. The Jaguars yielded 434 total yards, 194 on the ground and 244 via the air.

In Valley's win against UAPB, Delta Devils' sophomore quarterback Paul Roberts was 15-of-27 passing for 153 yards and a touchdown.

MVSU will have to get its running game going against Southern, but Totten is optimistic.

“We think we match up well with Southern. I think we can run the ball on them,” Totten said.

The Delta Devils gained 30 yards on 35 carries against the Golden Lions. That number is slightly misleading because Valley lost 45 yards on four sacks. The output on the ground was the poorest by a SWAC team in Week 1 other than Jackson State being held to -29 yards rushing against Delta State.

“Most of our problems were mental mistakes in the second

half,” said Totten, whose team mustered just 45 yards and three first downs after halftime. “We had some penalties that we weren't able to overcome and we had a couple of freshmen fullbacks blow assignments and our young quarterback made some bad reads. The good news is that all of that is correctable.

“We've got a lot of work to do, but we scored when had to. Our defense will have to carry us early while our offense puts it all together.”

Valley's total of 183 yards offense against UAPB was also the lowest in the conference other than JSU's output of 122.

The SWAC's Week 2 slate of games gets underway Thursday as UAPB travels to Lorman and a contest with Alcorn State. The Braves were ripped by Grambling State 31-10 in their opener as Tigers' quarterback Brandon Landers threw for 303 yards, 198 to receiver Reginal Jackson.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Jackson State will try to bounce back from its 25-17 loss at home to Delta State with a date against Tennessee State of the Ohio Valley Conference at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis.

Others games have Alabama A&M hosting Clark, Alabama State at Texas Southern while Prairie View A&M meets North Carolina A&T in Los Angeles.