PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas — The Southern defense fought all night, sometimes against itself, but came up with a monumental stop in overtime to give the Jaguars an improbable 31-24 victory over Prairie View here Saturday.
Jelani Davis sacked Panthers quarterback Cam Peters on back-to-back plays to end the game as Southern held off the home team after a first and goal from the 1-yard line in the extra period.
"That's what we're built on, going good to great," linebacker Derrick Williams said. "Bend don't break. When all our backs are against the wall, we're going to come out swinging. I couldn't be more proud of my guys.
"We all looked at each other and said 'It's grind time.' None of us batted an eye when they got to the 1-yard line."
Kendric Rhymes put Southern ahead when he ran 25 yards for a touchdown on Southern's overtime possession, his second TD of the night.
Southern trailed 14-3 at the half and struggled offensively all game but tied it late, then defensive tackle Willie Miles blocked a potential game-winning 52-yard field goal on the final play in regulation.
The victory in the Southwestern Athletic Conference opener lifted Southern to 2-2 overall going into an open date. Prairie View fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in SWAC play.
"The guys fought and played hard, I told them at halftime we've got 30 minutes to play and it was up to them to decide what we are going to do and how we're going to be remembered. Those guys answered the bell."
Quarterback Noah Bodden suffered through a tough first half but rallied Southern in the second. He guided the Jaguars on a 75-yard scoring drive, keyed by a 28-yard run by Kobe Dillon and a 28-yard Bodden-to-Dupree Fuller connection.
CJ Russel got the touchdown to pull Southern within 24-22. Then with two defenders hanging on him, Bodden threw a desperation two-point pass to Quay Davis to tie the game.
Bodden finished with 16 completions in 29 attempts for 189 yards. DIllon rushed for 77 yards on nine carries as Southern had a season-best 191 on the ground.
"We got off to a slow start," Boidden said. "We tried to stay positive, lifting each other up in the locker room. The coaches got us ready to go and the leaders stepped up. We got it done."
Bodden finally got Southern into the end zone with a 9-yard scoring pass to Rhymes to make it 14-10 early in the third quarter. The momentum didn’t last as Peters threw a 72-yard scoring pass to Coby Cavil to make it 21-10.
Bodden came back with a 41-yard scoring strike to Chandler Whitfield, and the Jaguars went for two but Bodden threw incomplete.
The defenses battled back and forth for the rest of the game, but Guillermo Garcia hit a 44-yard field goal to put the home team up 24-16 with 5:41 left.
The first half was more of the same with the Southern defense trying to hold off the home team but getting no help from a punchless offense. Bodden fumbled away Southern’s best opportunity at the PVU 24-yard line, and PVU eventually put up a second touchdown just before halftime.
The Jaguars were outgained 155-96 and rushed for only 22 yards on 13 carries and had nine penalties for 65 yards in the first half. Bodden was 5 for 13 for 74 yards.
The Jaguars defense came up with a fourth-down stop at the Southern 37 with 2:40 left but the offense went backward on the next two plays. PVU used two timeouts to stop the clock and after a short Southern punt increased its lead to 14-3 with 20 seconds left in the half on a 45-yard TD pass from Peters to Chris Herron, who beat Elijah West in one-on-one coverage.
Earlier in the drive on a third and 4, Southern jumped offsides on an incomplete pass, keeping the Panthers’ drive alive.
Southern started reasonably well. The defense forced a three-and-out series, and the Jaguars got the benefit of a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a punt for a first down at midfield.