Southern withstands potent Prairie View offense to secure win

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Prairie View A&M football team fell to Southern with a 34-28 loss on Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium.

Southern University got on the board early in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead over the Panthers. As the Prairie View offense began to find their footing, penalties plagued the team’s first few attempts to move the offense forward. It wasn’t until senior quarterback Jalen Morton threw an upfield dagger to junior wide receiver Kalen Riles that tied the game at 7-7.

With just under two minutes left in the first period, the Prairie View defense made themselves known, starting with a big interception by sophomore safety Drake Cheatum. The play allowed the offense to set up just shy of the red zone, but they weren’t able to capitalize as the teams went into the second quarter tied seven all.

The Panthers fell behind 14-7 in the second quarter. Despite going scoreless in the period, Prairie View went into half time outnumbering Southern in total yards at 213 to SU’s 155. Morton went into the half 11-for-19 on 166 yards and one touchdown. Senior running back Dawonya Tucker had just 32 rushing yards.

The PVAMU defense continued to shine in the third quarter. An interception touchdown by junior cornerback Jaylen Harris put six points on the board, then a good kick from senior Amaury Martinez added one more to tie the game 14-14. Both teams upheld the tie until a late goal from Southern pushed Prairie View behind 17-14 going into the fourth quarter.

With 13:00 left in the fourth quarter, a Jaguars touchdown pushed the score to 24-14. Morton then responded with a 45-yard rushing touchdown of his own, bringing the team within reach at 21-24 with just over 10 minutes left in the game. After another Southern touchdown, PVAMU sat behind at 31-21.

The Prairie View A&M offense began to find their rhythm, as another touchdown from the Panthers cut their deficit down to 31-28. After another great defensive showing, the offense was able to try for another score but was just shy of another opportunity to put more points on the board.

Next, the Panthers will return to the field and play their Homecoming game against the University of Virginia – Lynchburg on Saturday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Courtesy: PVAMU Athletics