Courtesy: UAPB Sports Information
Baton Rouge, LA- The stage was set for a great ballgame as the two top teams in Southwestern Athletic Conference’s western division met to determine who would hold sole possession of first place.
The Golden Lions wasted no time getting on the scoring board; Dennis Jenkins reached pay dirt at 12:23 mark in the first quarter to get the Golden Lion scoring barrage started. On Southern’s very next possession, UAPB’s man in the middle, Bill Ross intercepted Southern’ quarterback Dray Joseph for his first pick of the year and the Golden Lions first defensive score of the season.
On UAPB’s next offensive possession, quarterback Ben Anderson, broke loose on 30 yard jaunt for the third score of first quarter. The melee ensued as UAPB scored three more times in the second quarter. This time Anderson connected with Ladarius Eckwood on a 52 yard screen play. Aaron Lagrone scored twice on runs of seven yards and one yard to give the Golden Lions a halftime lead of 41-6.
The Golden Lions came out of the half and Tyler Strickland added to the points total with a 29 yard field goal to push the lead to 44-6. Southern was able to muster up scores from 1 yard, 17 yards and 26 yards in an attempt to stay in the ballgame, but UAPB was just too much as Michael Wilson reached the end zone late in the fourth quarter to give the Golden Lions a 50-21 lead, that would prove to be the final.
Defensively, the Golden Lions were all over the field. Jer-Ryan Harris led the way with 10 total tackles. Ross was second with 9 stops and a 60 yard interception, which he returned for a touchdown. Collectively, the Golden Lions racked up 6 sacks, Brandon Thurmond bringing his league leading total to 10. The defensive unit also forced three fumbles and had 10 pass break-ups.
Next week the Golden Lions welcome the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State to Golden Lions Stadium for a homecoming match-up of epic proportions. Kick-off is set for 2:30.
