Southern holds on for a thrilling 48-42 win over Alcorn State

Final Stats

It wasn't pretty, but it was a win. Southern's Bryant Lee threw four touchdown passes and the SU Dog Day Defense held on for dear life, as the Jaguars defeated Alcorn State 48-42 on Saturday night.

In a game for the ages, or for aging fans and coaches alike, Alcorn State quarterback, Timothy Buckley put on an "Air McNair" type of show, and almost willed the Braves to an upset win over the home standing SU Jaguars, throwing three fourth quarter touchdown passes and rushing for one in front of a season-high 16,940 fans at AW Mumford Stadium.

SU would score first, on a 11 yards touchdown pass from Bryant Lee to Juamorris Stewart, with 11 second remaining in the first quarter.

The Jags would reach the endzone again early in the second quarter, after a botched sn ap on an Alcorn State fourth down, sent the ball flying over the punter's head, giving the Jags great field position at the Alcorn State 26 yard line. Five plays later, Gary Hollimon would cross the goal line to give the Jags a 14-0 lead.

But the Braves were not going to go away quietly, as Timothy Buckley threw the first of five touchdown passes, a 73 yard strike to Terrence Lewis, to move the Braves to within 7 at 14-7.

After the teams would go back and forth exchanging punts, Buckley would hook up with Anton DeJarnett from 20 yards out to tie the score at 14-14 heading into the half.

Bryant Lee, who was 19-for-35 with 253 yards, threw a 14-yard pass to Juamorris Stewart to break a 14-14 tie with 9:14 left in the third quarter. The pass was the first of three consecutive Southern touchdowns.

Lee would then hook up with Curry Allan, who was back on the field after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. Allan took an 11 yard pass and scored giving the Jags a 28-14 lead heading into the final period.

After a muffed punt by Alcorn's Samuel Randall, SU's Marcus Doss would recover the punt and put SU in scoring position early in the fourth quarter.

Two plays later, Gary Hollimon would scamper across the goal line for the second time in the game, to give Southern a commanding 35-21 lead.

But it would not take the Braves long to get back into the scoring column. Two plays later, Buckley would hit DeJarnett once again, this time from 31 yards out to moves the Braves to with 13, at 41-28.

But SU's Byron Williams would take the ensuing kickoff back 91 yards for a touchdown, to once again move the Jags to a 41-21 lead.

After two consecutive unsuccessful possessions, SU would punt to the Braves, only to see "Air Buckley" do his magic and two consecutive series and score on two passes -- a 14 yarder to Ryan Singleton and a 11 yarder to Edward Johnson, to cut the score to 41-35 late in the fourth quarter, but Southern's Bryant Lee hit Warren Matthews for a 63-yard touchdown with 4:36 to go.

Buckley would score on a one yard run with 242 second left in the game to move ASU to within 6 points, at 48-42.

But SU's Evan Alexander would pounce on ASU's on-side kick attempt, and the Jags would kneel to run out the clock and secure the win.

ASU's Tim Buckley was 25-for-40 with 408 yards and four touchdowns for the Braves. He also led ASU in rushing, with 52 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.

Anton DeJarnett caught four passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Singleton had 114 yards on 12 catches and Terrance Lewis had 103 yards on three catches for the Braves.

Juamorris Stewart finished with 95 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches for the Jaguars. Warren Matthews had 2 catches for 71 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively for SU, Andre' Coleman and Allan Baugh led the Jags in tackles with seven each. Steven Williams had five tackles to go along with two sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss yards. Jordan Miller also had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss yards. Casey Narcisse and Pierre Warford had four tackles apiece, while Gary Chatman, returned to the playing field after missing the majority of the last two games with an ankle injury, and had three tackles and a forced fumble. Marcus Doss and Timothy Berry each had a fumble recovery, and Jason House picked off his third pass of the season.

Southern will travel to Jackson, MS this weekend, to take on the Tigers of Jackson State University at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in a home game, away from AW Mumford. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm, and the game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on Cox Sports TV.