Photo: Coach Pete Richardson signal in play against FAMU. By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
Southern has dominated opponents in the second half. So credit the coaching staff, offense to defense, with making all the right adjustments.
Also credit the coaches with keeping this team together — from the preseason when the attrition of more than a dozen players sapped this team of a lot of promise and in two games this season when the Jaguars came back after falling behind.
Saturday night, SU overcame a 21-point deficit deep in the second quarter to beat Tennessee State 41-34 at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
The Jaguars (4-0) outscored the Tigers 35-7 in the final 36 minutes after falling behind 27-6 with 6:36 until halftime.
“The coaches (kept us together),” said Southern quarterback Bryant Lee, who threw for career highs of 305 yards and four touchdowns. “They told us to go out there and just execute, basically.”
“First of all, the coaches got involved,” SU free safety Jarmaul George, who had his third interception of the season.
In the season opener, SU trailed Florida A&M 20-12 at halftime after, like Saturday, giving up big plays on defense.
“I told them at halftime we were going to win this football game, so we might as well get ready to go out here and make it happen. And that’s what we did,” Southern defensive coordinator Terrence Graves said.
Though Tennessee State and FAMU are the only teams to score second-half touchdowns against Southern, getting one each, the Jaguars have shown they can put some serious clamps on teams.
“We knew we made some mistakes, but we had to go get on our horses, go and make plays,” SU drop linebacker Gary Chapman, who had a career- and game-high 11 tackles, including one sack. “We have a lot of talent on this team; we just had to go and get it. We all knew what we had to do.”
Saturday was the more impressive comeback.
TSU quarterback Antonio Heffner (who was all-conference like FAMU’s Albert Chester II) has a strong arm and swift feet. He impressed with big plays throughout the first half and finished with 316 yards on just 13 completions (24.3 yards per catch).
However, the Jaguars forced five second-half turnovers — four by Heffner (two interceptions, two fumbles). SU also totaled a season-best seven sacks. And tailback Javarris Williams, who had 107 yards through three quarter, got nothing in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a 60-minute game,” Southern head coach Pete Richardson said. “We started to work our way back and made plays.
“They weren’t stopping us offensively. We just had to make some stops on defense.”
One Southern attribute that was obvious in preseason camp has surfaced many times this season as the Jaguars corral mobile quarterbacks — Southern has speed across the board on defense. And, yes, the coaches have done well in using that speed as an asset and not allowing the lack of size or depth to be a detriment.
“He got a little tired, too,” Richardson said of Heffner. “We got more footspeed on the field, especially at the linebacker spot.”
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Taking over in the second half has been the trademark of this Southern team — the offense finding a groove and the defense going to shut-down mode. Southern has outscored its four foes 58-16 after halftime.
Only once has an opponent scored in the second half, Tennessee State’s 38-yard pass play from Antonio Heffner to Ronald Evans for a 34-32 lead with 1:48 left in the third quarter, to pull ahead of the Jaguars. That lead lasted 5 1/2 minutes. SU won the fourth quarter 9-0 and forced three turnovers.
More than just being undefeated, the Jaguars are developing a confidence that they own the second half.
Work more on this
Southern did not convert after four touchdowns — one PAT missed, one PAT blocked and two incomplete two-point conversions — and had a 38-yard field goal try blocked. That’s seven to nine potential points blown. Plus, the blocked field goal would have iced the game. Instead, Tennessee State got the ball back at its own 21-yard line, down seven points, with 1:49 to play.
Freshman kicker Josh Duran is 7-for-12 on PATs and 2-for-4 on field goals this season. The Jaguars are also 0-for-4 on two-point conversion passes.
Up next
Southern (4-0, 2-0 SWAC) plays Alabama State (4-0, 3-0) in a showdown of the conference’s only unbeaten teams, in the Gulf Coast Classic at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. Both teams lead their respective divisions. Alabama State was picked to finish last in the Eastern Division and is under first-year coach Reggie Barlow. The Hornets benched returning quarterback Alex Engram in their season opener and turned to junior-college transfer Chris Mitchell, who has led them to fourth-quarter wins in all four games. The teams met in the 2003 and ’04 SWAC Championship Games. Southern won 20-9 in ’03, while Alabama State won 40-35 in ‘04. Both teams went 5-6 last season, meaning one team will tie its win total from last year with the victory. Both teams have been strong in the second half. ASU has outscored foes 46-23 in the fourth quarter.
Southern University Jaguars Human Jukebox Marching Band
Southern has dominated opponents in the second half. So credit the coaching staff, offense to defense, with making all the right adjustments.
Also credit the coaches with keeping this team together — from the preseason when the attrition of more than a dozen players sapped this team of a lot of promise and in two games this season when the Jaguars came back after falling behind.
Saturday night, SU overcame a 21-point deficit deep in the second quarter to beat Tennessee State 41-34 at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
The Jaguars (4-0) outscored the Tigers 35-7 in the final 36 minutes after falling behind 27-6 with 6:36 until halftime.
“The coaches (kept us together),” said Southern quarterback Bryant Lee, who threw for career highs of 305 yards and four touchdowns. “They told us to go out there and just execute, basically.”
“First of all, the coaches got involved,” SU free safety Jarmaul George, who had his third interception of the season.
In the season opener, SU trailed Florida A&M 20-12 at halftime after, like Saturday, giving up big plays on defense.
“I told them at halftime we were going to win this football game, so we might as well get ready to go out here and make it happen. And that’s what we did,” Southern defensive coordinator Terrence Graves said.
Though Tennessee State and FAMU are the only teams to score second-half touchdowns against Southern, getting one each, the Jaguars have shown they can put some serious clamps on teams.
“We knew we made some mistakes, but we had to go get on our horses, go and make plays,” SU drop linebacker Gary Chapman, who had a career- and game-high 11 tackles, including one sack. “We have a lot of talent on this team; we just had to go and get it. We all knew what we had to do.”
Saturday was the more impressive comeback.
TSU quarterback Antonio Heffner (who was all-conference like FAMU’s Albert Chester II) has a strong arm and swift feet. He impressed with big plays throughout the first half and finished with 316 yards on just 13 completions (24.3 yards per catch).
However, the Jaguars forced five second-half turnovers — four by Heffner (two interceptions, two fumbles). SU also totaled a season-best seven sacks. And tailback Javarris Williams, who had 107 yards through three quarter, got nothing in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a 60-minute game,” Southern head coach Pete Richardson said. “We started to work our way back and made plays.
“They weren’t stopping us offensively. We just had to make some stops on defense.”
One Southern attribute that was obvious in preseason camp has surfaced many times this season as the Jaguars corral mobile quarterbacks — Southern has speed across the board on defense. And, yes, the coaches have done well in using that speed as an asset and not allowing the lack of size or depth to be a detriment.
“He got a little tired, too,” Richardson said of Heffner. “We got more footspeed on the field, especially at the linebacker spot.”
Do more of this
Taking over in the second half has been the trademark of this Southern team — the offense finding a groove and the defense going to shut-down mode. Southern has outscored its four foes 58-16 after halftime.
Only once has an opponent scored in the second half, Tennessee State’s 38-yard pass play from Antonio Heffner to Ronald Evans for a 34-32 lead with 1:48 left in the third quarter, to pull ahead of the Jaguars. That lead lasted 5 1/2 minutes. SU won the fourth quarter 9-0 and forced three turnovers.
More than just being undefeated, the Jaguars are developing a confidence that they own the second half.
Work more on this
Southern did not convert after four touchdowns — one PAT missed, one PAT blocked and two incomplete two-point conversions — and had a 38-yard field goal try blocked. That’s seven to nine potential points blown. Plus, the blocked field goal would have iced the game. Instead, Tennessee State got the ball back at its own 21-yard line, down seven points, with 1:49 to play.
Freshman kicker Josh Duran is 7-for-12 on PATs and 2-for-4 on field goals this season. The Jaguars are also 0-for-4 on two-point conversion passes.
Up next
Southern (4-0, 2-0 SWAC) plays Alabama State (4-0, 3-0) in a showdown of the conference’s only unbeaten teams, in the Gulf Coast Classic at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. Both teams lead their respective divisions. Alabama State was picked to finish last in the Eastern Division and is under first-year coach Reggie Barlow. The Hornets benched returning quarterback Alex Engram in their season opener and turned to junior-college transfer Chris Mitchell, who has led them to fourth-quarter wins in all four games. The teams met in the 2003 and ’04 SWAC Championship Games. Southern won 20-9 in ’03, while Alabama State won 40-35 in ‘04. Both teams went 5-6 last season, meaning one team will tie its win total from last year with the victory. Both teams have been strong in the second half. ASU has outscored foes 46-23 in the fourth quarter.
Southern University Jaguars Human Jukebox Marching Band
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