The SWAC West is up for grabs.
Alcorn State was left for dead after its midseason slide while Prairie View needed just to stay the course to win is second straight division title.
Jarveon Howard had 125 yards rushing included a touchdown run in overtime that helped Alcorn State beat Prairie View A&M 23-16 on Friday night to upend the SWAC West standings.
Javonta Leatherwood’s 5-yard touchdown run for Alcorn State tied the game 16-16 with 6:48 remaining after the Panthers scored 16 unanswered points in the second half to take the lead. In overtime, Howard scored on a 2-yard run to open the extra period before Braves defensive back Tavarian McCullum intercepted a Trazon Connley pass on fourth down to seal the win.
Two plays before the game-ending turnover, Panthers wide receiver Collier Ricks dropped what would have been the tying TD.
Btw, Prairie View A&M was *this* close to scoring a TD on their first offensive play in OT… but the receiver dropped it. 😬😬 pic.twitter.com/xb83GRNyqP
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) November 5, 2022
Alcorn State (4-5, 3-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) ended a three-game losing streak and has won the last five meetings against Prairie View A&M (5-4, 4-2).
Connley threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Colbey Washington and added a 20-yard TD run in the third quarter that gave the Panthers a 13-9 lead. Connley was 13 of 36 for 142 yards passing and finished with 38 yards rushing and a TD.
Noah Kiani kicked field goals from 21, 46, and 23 yards for Alcorn State in the first half.
As it stands now, Prairie View, Southern and Texas Southern each have two losses within the crowded division.
