A year ago, Southern defensive end Vince Lands couldn’t stop Prairie View from its stunning overtime victory, having already been carted off the field on a stretcher with dehydration.
A year later, Prairie View couldn’t stop Lands or his defensive mates.
The Jaguars defense, with Lands sacking Chris Gibson twice and teaming on another sack of backup Mark Spivey, came up with two fourth-and-short stops in Southern territory and totaled three interceptions to power a 12-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference victory Saturday night at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
“It really burned inside, because I couldn’t finish the game,” Lands said of the 26-23 overtime loss that started a tailspin after a promising start last season. “I felt like I left my team down, so I tried to lay it all on the line and stick it out, even when I was tired. It was just pride tonight.”
That time, in Prairie View’s first win over Southern since 1971, the Panthers turned two Southern fumbles into 14 points in the final 2:33. And that time, after the SU offense coughed up the ball on consecutive bad snaps, the defense didn’t hold up, even against a PV offense that struggled then and all season to pass the ball.
This time, Southern’s offense never could get rolling like the Jaguars had in their first two games, with SU totaling 223 total yards (67 rushing after 293 the week before) and getting a fourth-quarter touchdown on a fake field-goal try. But this time, Southern’s defense held strong and refused to let PV score — stopping the Panthers six times in Southern territory.
“The defense, we really stepped it up tonight,” said Lands, who had eight tackles, including 4&permil for losses.
Photo: Defensive end Vincent Lands sacks Prairie View A&M quarter-back Chris Gibson.Southern (3-0, 2-0 SWAC) has kept opponents out of the end zone for six straight quarters. If not for a fourth quarter safety, for holding in the end zone during a punt, Prairie View (2-1, 1-1) would have been shut out.
Prairie View had 77 yards in the second half. The Panthers, down 6-0 at the time, were stopped after an incomplete Gibson pass on fourth-and-3 at the Southern 28-yard line and, after getting to the SU 15 down 12-2, free safety Jarmaul George picked off Spivey.
“We got a little more pressure on the quarterback, and once we started to do that, then he started to get a little antsy and we were able to do some things,” SU head coach Pete Richardson said. “That’s the thing we have to do: make them move their feet. Once we started doing that, Lands did a great job coming off that corner.”
How different than getting medical attention on a stretcher was this night for Lands? After sprinting to drag down the mobile Gibson from behind five minutes into the fourth quarter, Lands raced over to the SU sideline to leap into a chest bump with SU defensive coordinator Terrence Graves.
“That’s just Coach Graves’ swagger. That’s just our chemistry,” Lands said.
Prairie View looked to take that oomph away early in the game, driving 46 yards on the opening drive to the SU 17. But on a fourth-and-1, Gibson saw a gap in Southern’s line and gambled, only to get denied for no gain. Cornerback Efe Osawemwenze intercepted Gibson on PV’s next touch.
“We want to come out of the locker room, playing fast, playing hard and making things happen,” Graves said.
Gibson finished 11-for-26 for 69 yards and two interceptions, with Spivey, entering in the fourth quarter, going 11-for-18 for 76 yards and an interception.
Although Calvin Harris rushed for 69 yards, Gibson, averaging 99.5 yards per game on the ground, had minus-17.
“We made some plays on defense,” Richardson said.
Meanwhile, Southern’s offense, which has had slow starts in all three games, made the most of two drives - finished by clutch plays—after good field position.
First, as free safety Anthnony Beck blitzed hard, quarterback Bryant Lee, who was 22-for-36 for 144 yards, zipped a 15-yard touchdown pass to Gerard Landry for a 6-0 lead with 52 seconds before halftime. The PAT by Josh Duran was no good.
Second, holder Nick Benjamin, a former high school quarterback, tossed a 12-yard TD pass to tight end Evan Alexander for a 12-yard TD five seconds into the fourth quarter.
On the possession after the safety, getting PV within 12-2 with 12:39 left in the game, the Panthers started at the Southern 49 but finished at their own 35. First, Lands hauled down Ben Boyd for a 7-yard loss. Then, PV went back 5 yards for a false start. Then, after a 2-yard gain, Lands blasted Gibson from behind.
The next PV touch was a three-and-out. The next ended in the George interception. The next closed out the game.
“Just a credit to the defense. Those guys are just playing hard,” Graves said. “We call it, and those guys are just executing at a high level.”
Southern has won four straight games, dating to last season. And after two straight losing seasons, the Jaguars are off to their first 3-0 start since 2003, when the team went 12-1 and won the SWAC and black college national titles.
“We’ve got to just live from week to week,” Richardson said. “We’re real thin on that offensive line. Injuries could make things real ugly for us. We just have to regroup and come on back.”
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