Photo: Del Roberts runs back kickoff against Alabama State in Gulf Coast Classic.
By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
Southern is the last unbeaten team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. How long can the run last?
The Jaguars (5-0, 3-0 SWAC) knocked off previously unbeaten Alabama State 21-2 in the 34th Gulf Coast Classic on Saturday in Mobile, Ala.
Now, here come two games which will tell much about Southern.
First, defending conference champion Alabama A&M (4-1, 2-1) visits for homecoming at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium. Then, Jackson State (2-2, 2-0) comes to Mumford Stadium on the following Saturday.
On deck, this A&M game is absolutely huge.
A&M, with senior Kelcy Luke at quarterback and rapidly emerging sophomore Ulysses Banks at running back, has averaged 45.8 points per game in its four victories. The Bulldogs, of course, also play some of the SWAC’s best defense every season.
This game alone may tell all about Southern.
“If you’re not there, you’re going to miss an experience,” SU strong safety Glenn Bell said.
SU coach Pete Richardson, around for 15 seasons, has always said October is where championships are won.
The last two Octobers, the Jaguars are 2-5, including 0-3 last season. In comparison, SU went 5-0 en route to the 2004 Western Division championship.
This team, of course, is different than the last two editions. The 5-0 start has put this team in position.
“We have to keep the momentum and keep the focus,” Southern quarterback Bryant Lee said.
What Southern has shown so far has been impressive.
Southern’s defense, using its speed and playing with passion, has been the difference-maker in all five games — shutting down Mississippi Valley State, Alabama State and Prairie View and, after first-down breakdowns, putting clamps on Tennessee State and Florida A&M.
The offense, meanwhile, may not have found consistency from game to game or quarter to quarter, but the playmakers make plays, Lee is an efficient winner and the running game, headlined by Darren Coates and a zone-blocking scheme, has been vastly improved.
Together, starting with the way the offensive linemen have selflessly adopted to their changes after losing so many teammates to grades and continuing to how the defense will pick up the offense and vice versa, this has been a team effort.
“We have to play, regardless of what happens. It’s a team sport,” Richardson said.
Richardson keeps talking about how this team has learned how to play hard for 60 minutes.
There’s a big 60 minutes ahead Saturday.
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The balance rushing, even without Smith, was there again Saturday. Coates had 13 carries for 65 yards, Brian Threat had 14 for 52 yards and a touchdown and Lee had 16 carries for minus-2 yards and a touchdown (losing 22 yards on a sack and 21 yards on a bad snap, so effectively 14 positive carries for 41 yards).
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Southern has to find a way to get a consistent offensive tempo, and the Jaguars have to do so quicker. So far this season, SU has had one sustained scoring drive in the first quarter. SU’s best scoring quarter is the second, with 53 points.
Up next
Southern hosts Alabama A&M for homecoming at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium. The Bulldogs won 28-21 last season. Though A&M return man Ulysses Banks took the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and the Bulldogs took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, A&M trailed 21-14 entering the fourth quarter before scoring two touchdowns to win. A&M has beaten SU the last two seasons. Both teams have beaten Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee State this season, with A&M winning 49-23 and SU winning 41-34. And both beat Mississippi Valley State, with A&M winning 45-14 and SU winning 23-6.
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