UAPB stifled at Southern

BATON ROUGE, La. – Southern University scored touchdowns on Saturday, while the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff kicked field goals.

UAPB dropped its final road game of the season 31-9 to Southern at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

UAPB (3-8, 2-5 SWAC) made three of four field goals but never found the end zone. The Golden Lions haven’t scored a touchdown against the Jaguars in any of their past three meetings.

Head coach Alonzo Hampton said the Golden Lions’s offensive line wasn’t good enough to finish drives with touchdowns.

“We knew we could move the ball on them,” Hampton said. “We just got bogged down when it came down to crunch time, third down. They made some third down stops. We could move it until we got to the red zone. They went man, brought pressure, (we) couldn’t block it.”

UAPB started the game by forcing a punt, then marching into the red zone. The Golden Lions called a read option on 3rd and 1, trying to read Southern defensive end Ckelby Givens, who entered the game tied for the most sacks in SWAC play this season.

Givens blew up the play and forced a field goal attempt, which kicker Trey Glymph made from 35 yards to give UAPB a 3-0 lead.

On the ensuing Southern (7-4, 6-1) drive, UAPB defensive back Martavious Miller intercepted Southern quarterback Jalen Woods and returned it to the Southern 38-yard line. The Golden Lions got to the Jaguars’ 7 but again had to settle for a field goal. Glymph kicked it from 22 yards to make it 6-0.

Southern responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive to take the lead. Senior running back Kendric Rhymes scored on a 3-yard run. The Jaguars went on to score on two of their next three drives, with the only exception coming when time ran out in the first half with Southern in the red zone.

UAPB wide receiver JaVonnie Gibson said he felt the Golden Lions should have won had they been able to finish their drives.

“We getting down there,” Gibson said. “We just gotta make the plays and call the right things. … I feel like we could of done way much more. We left a lot of points on the board.”

Glymph added a 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter to cut it to 24-9 after UAPB was unable to capitalize on an 85-yard play by BJ Curry, who caught a short pass and ran nearly the length of the field.

Hampton said the Golden Lions had planned to go for it on fourth and goal inside the 10-yard line, but after losing a yard on second down and an incomplete pass on third, he decided to make sure UAPB got something out of the possession.

“Now, it’s just getting frustrating,” Hampton said. “So, you just kinda want to get something out of it. … Late third, so in my mind, let’s get some points, and then we come in the fourth quarter, we still in the game. We were only down 15 points at the time, so that’s why I took the field goal. … We ended up stopping them. They gave the ball back, and then, we couldn’t move it.”

Southern rushed for 216 yards. Senior running back Corey Russell finished with 66 yards, while Rhymes had 65 and a touchdown. Kobe Dillon, a senior, had 62 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman quarterback Jalen Woods made his first career start and completed 14 of 22 passes for 202 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

UAPB rushed for 95 yards, led by Curry’s 85. Gibson caught 10 passes for 85 yards.

Mekhi Hagens started the game and completed 14 of 27 passes for 216 yards in three quarters. DJ Stevenson, a junior, took over for each of UAPB’s three drives in the fourth quarter. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 8 yards.

Hampton said the decision to take Hagens out of the game wasn’t performance-based.

“DJ’s mother was in town from California, so we wanted to be able to get him a couple of snaps,” Hampton said. “That’s what it was. We got two good quarterbacks, and I tell everybody, good thing about DJ, DJ’s going to redshirt this year. DJ’s pretty doggone good. You’ve seen him in the game twice. He knows where the ball’s supposed to go. His teammates believe in him.”

Southern clinched the SWAC West Division championship with this win and will face Jackson State in the SWAC Championship Game.