Southern pulls off unlikely win over Texas Southern | South

HOUSTON – Two conference games, two unlikely overtimes at Texas and a 2-0 league record for Southern.

Joshua Griffin hit a 34-yard field goal to give the Jaguars one of their most unlikely victories in their history, a 22-19 win over Texas Southern on Saturday.

Southern appeared to be finished when Texas Southern took a 19-12 lead on a safety with 1:26 left. But the Tigers couldn’t wait out the clock after the free kick, and TSU’s Jeremy Ramirez, punting from near his goal line, kicked the ball away from a Southern player.

That gave the Jaguars possession at the Tigers 16 with 25 seconds left.

Southern quarterback Noah Bodden wasted no time throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to former Texas Southern player Quay Davis, and Griffin added the extra point to tie the game at 19-19 with 18 seconds left.

In overtime, the Jaguars’ defense held the Tigers to three downs and Gustavo Romero missed a 41-yard field goal. Southern handed the ball three times for 8 yards to running back Kendric Rhymes to set up Griffin’s kick.

“It’s not magic, it’s just that these guys are resilient,” Southern coach Terrence Graves said. “I talk all the time about how this team has the heart of a champion. It may not always look good or pretty, but this team doesn’t give up.”

Southern outrebounded the home team 354-239 and Bodden completed 13 of 32 passes for 181 yards and the score. He was 3 of 11 for 43 yards in the first half.

“We’re no strangers to coming back,” said Bodden, who started the game, was replaced by C’Zavian Teasett in the second quarter and played again throughout the second half. “It’s not ideal. We need to figure out why we’re starting slow.

“Quay is a baller. We wanted to put the ball in the hands of the playmaker. I thought it was over after the safety, then I looked at the clock and saw we still had a chance.

The game started as a defensive nap but ended with a crazy flourish.

The Jaguars started late again, with a miserable first half of three turnovers, 110 yards and zero points.

The Southern offense also secured the Tigers’ first two touchdowns on a pick-six by Teasett on his first snap in relief of starter Noah Bodden and a fumble by Teasett that set up another touchdown just before halftime to make it 14-0.

But the Jaguars came back in the second half and looked like a different team. The defense produced three consecutive three-and-outs and the offense scored on its first three possessions, field goals by Griffin from 26 and 40 yards and a 6-yard touchdown run by Rhymes to get back into the game.

Bodden beat Rhymes trying to score two points, ending the Jaguars’ offensive momentum at 14-12 until the final 30 seconds.

The win improved the Jaguars to 3-3 and 2-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings, tied with Alcorn State for first place in the West Division. Texas Southern is 2-4, 1-3.

Most of the first half was a battle between two hitless offenses attacking each other and heading to a scoreless game at halftime. But on Teasett’s first snap, he tried to throw an out-pattern to right. MJ Hission skipped the route, caught the pass and received it from 19 yards out with 4:24 left until halftime.

It was the first of three turnovers for the Jaguars and two for Teasett. Later in the half, on 3rd-and-11 from the 48-yard line, Teasett tried to avoid an all-out tackle and spun left. The ball fell out of his hands and Michal Akins pounced on it at the South 22-yard line less than a minute before halftime.

The Tigers then destroyed the Jaguars’ defense with a trick play. Trenton Leary took a pitch out on a reverse play and caught Southern defenders on a 22-yard TD run with 47 seconds left in the half.

That was all for Teasett, and to make matters worse, Southern missed a chance to cut the score in half on the final play. With six seconds left, Bodden took the snap and sent a Hail Mary throw into the left corner. Cameron Jackson made a good play to get the ball back, but was denied as he fell backwards into the end zone.

Bodden and Teasett combined for 49 yards and completed 4 of 13 passes in the first half. The Jaguars rushed for 61 yards but averaged just 2.9 yards per carry. The teams combined for seven punts.

Southern’s defense once again came out on top, holding the home team to 156 yards and 0 for 6 on third-down conversions. Herman Brister recovered a fumble forced by Vincent Paige to stop a TSU drive and negate an earlier lost fumble by Kobe Dillon. But Teasett gave it right back four plays later.