Strong defense keeps SU unbeaten

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

MOBILE, Ala. — Late in the first half, Alabama State quarterback Alex Engram told Southern strong safety Glenn Bell, after Bell squared him up for a tackle in the open field, the next time would be different.

Bell disagreed. And, it turns out, Bell was right.

Midway through the third quarter, Bell unloaded on Engram as he tried to make a play with his legs around the left end. Engram got 3 yards to the Southern 2-yard line on third-and-goal. But Bell knocked him out of bounds and out for the next play after trainers helped the wobbly quarterback across the field to the Alabama State sideline.

Rahmod Taylor was then stopped at the 1-yard line on the next play and Southern took possession.

That goal-line stand, with 8:42 left in the third quarter, was the exclamation point to a day in which Southern’s defense paved the way for a 21-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference victory over Alabama State Saturday in the 34th Gulf Coast Classic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

“Just before halftime, when I tackled him in the open field, he said, ‘Next time, five, I’m going to run over you.’ I was like, ‘Next time, you won’t get up.’ It just so happened, the next time was on the goal line, and he didn’t get up,” said Bell, named the game’s defensive MVP after totaling 10 tackles and one breakup. Bell wears No. 5.

To his credit, Engram, verified the back-and-forth jawing and gave Bell and the SU defense respect.

“It was a bootleg pass,” Engram said. “I was looking for my guy. He didn’t show up, so I tried to run and make a play. The guy gave me a lick, that’s all. He’s a good athlete. They have a good defense.”

Photo: SU’s Vince Lands (33) and Gary Chapman (39) pressure ASU quarterback Alex Engram.

The clash of SWAC unbeatens was in no way an offensive masterpiece. But it was a day for gritty defense.

Southern (5-0, 3-0 SWAC) turned the ball over four times (getting one back on a wild play in which the Alabama State defender who recovered the initial fumble subsequently fumbled himself) in the first half and five times overall.

Plus, SU had minus-6 yards, with two three-and-outs, an interception and a safety in the end zone in the third quarter. And SU had a first-quarter rushing touchdown wiped out by a holding penalty.

Southern scored twice in the second quarter — on a 21-yard touchdown run by Brian Threat (12:35 before halftime) and a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Lee (4:36 before halftime) — to take a 14-0 halftime lead.

Because of Alabama State’s solid defense, the Jaguars couldn’t get any continuity until deep in the fourth quarter, when the offense flipped field position with a strong drive and iced the game with Lee’s 23-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Gerard Landry.

Lee, who hadn’t thrown an interception in his previous five starts, tied a career high with three Saturday, but he still threw for 242 yards and one touchdown. And running back Darren Coates, the game’s offensive MVP, ran for 67 yards and had a career-best 119 receiving yards. His 51-yard catch set up Lee’s TD pass to Landry.

“I’m proud of the effort of my football team,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said. “We had to play hard for 60 minutes. We knew they had won quite a few games in the second half, so we had to stay with our game plan.”

Alabama State (4-1, 3-1), meanwhile, alternated quarterbacks because of a staphylococcus infection to the right knee of Chris Mitchell, who had started the previous three games. Mitchell was 2-for-19 for 17 yards and two interceptions, while Engram was 6-for-14 for 67 yards. SU broke up 10 passes, including five by linebacker Gary Chapman, whose fourth-quarter interception ended Alabama State’s last possession.

Alabama State running back Jay Peck, a first-team All-SWAC selection last season who leads the conference in rushing, had 35 yards on 16 carries — his lowest total since last season’s opener against Troy, when he had 20 yards and had yet to make a name for himself.

“We had to shut down that running back,” Richardson said. “We played a lot of eight-man fronts.”

All told, Alabama State, the team that had made four fourth-quarter comebacks, outscoring foes 46-23 in the period, had zero points for the first time all season. Alabama State’s only points came one play after SU’s goal-line stand, with linebacker Leland Jones Jr. tackling Coates in the end zone with 8:37 left in the third quarter.

SU played without its top tackler, linebacker Johnathan Malveaux (high ankle sprain), who didn’t make the trip. The Jaguars defense has allowed just two second-half touchdowns this season. It was the second time this season that the Jaguars defense could claim a “moral shutout.” Previously, the unit had underscored a 12-2 victory over Prairie View.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Landry said. “They played their heart out every down. They didn’t quit. Things didn’t go their way, but they kept fighting, kept fighting. The offense, we kept going three-and-out, but they didn’t complain. I can’t say enough.”

“The defense pumped us up, and we got it done,” Lee said.

Alabama State fumbled at the SU 31 and missed a 22-yard field-goal try in the second quarter. Then, the Hornets offense held the ball for 11 minutes in the third quarter and came away empty — turning the ball over on downs at the Southern 1 and SU 16 with 4:22 left in the third quarter and at the SU 18 with 12:26 left in the fourth quarter, with Chapman making his interception on the last Alabama State possession.

“I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t really have a great week of practice,” SU defensive coordinator Terrence Graves said. “We talked with them (Friday night) and told them the practice week was over; we have to go out and set the tone.”

A week earlier, SU’s defense gave up a series of big plays as the Jaguars fell behind by 21 points. But the offense came alive and the defense clamped down as SU went on to a 41-34 victory over Tennessee State.

“We’re a team,” Bell said. “Last week, we weren’t playing too well, and the offense caught our slack. ... We play together as a team, and that’s why we win.”

“It was just a testament,” Graves said. “They made the determination they weren’t going to let those guys score. All the credit goes to those guys.”