Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 48

Clarion-Ledger Sunday, October 17, 1993 COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The SWAC 66 The While JSU savors its past, SU looks to future 1V MIKE CHRISTENSEM Staff Writer The Clarion-Ledger hill." As if energized by the presence of its former stars, JSU bolted from the gate on a 56-yard drive that produced a 37-yard Oliver Dean field goal and a 3-0 lead less than 2Va minutes into the game. Whoop. That was it. JSU managed 263 yards for the game, but much of that total came after the issue was decided. The Tigers punted nine times.

Their quarterbacks were sacked six times. A first-quarter fumble by tight end Richard Alvarado let! to Southern's go-ahead touchdown. i For the record, JSU helped Southern to its second touchdown also when senior linebacker Fernando Smith committed a mindless personal foul penalty that kept alive a Jaguars drive. The Tigers changed quarterbacks in the fourth quarter, but newcomer Darryl Asberry threw two interceptions one to the ever-present Wallace and battle-scarred starter Ricky Jordan was forced to return. "Southern's defense is good," said JSU senior flanker Ernest Pate.

"I believe they can be beat. If we had played the whole game like the first series but we never could seem to get that spark back." And that becomes JSU's quest for what remains of this season: Get that spark back. As we know, the Tigers have a storied past to live up to. Jackson State celebrated its past Saturday night at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, trotting out such former stars as Walter and Eddie Payton, Willie Richardson, Edgar Hardy and Ben McGee for a pre-game ceremony. Southern University stuck to the here and now for 60 minutes and, after wrapping up a sloppy 16-3 victory over the Tigers, looked with great anticipation to the future.

A crowd estimated at 50,000 watched as 16th-ranked Southern took another step toward its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 1975. "Our number now is two," said Southern's demonstrative senior safety, Sean Wallace. "Alcorn and Grambiing. Two more for the SWAC." The Jaguars, 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the league, now face a huge game against 15th-ranked Alcorn State, 5-1, 4-0, next Saturday at Baton Rouge, La. Southern plays Grambiing on Nov.

22. JSU, on the other hand, must face up to the realization that it is not going to win the SWAC for a third straight season. The team that dominated the league in the '80s is now 3-3-1 overall, 1-1-1 in the league and reeling. The Tigers' defense has played markedly better since head coach James Carson resumed defensive coordinator duties two games ago. But the best defense (statisti- I.

1 i Ml I Rushing yards Jyr osuj XX 51 (36 carries) pXj Southern I PW 1 124 (44 carries) "Passing yards PtX JSU' I VJ 't. 212 C. (Southern '(T5gyard j- l5r 'JSU 1- -1 Southern U. I''1 I '1990 I 1 i lJ, i First downs Third downs Pfy. 'X' 7.1 13.3Y VJSU Southern JSU Southern 1 i i cally) in I-AA was on the other side of the field Saturday night, and it showed out.

"We knew that to beat Jackson State we had to play tremendous defense," Wallace said. "We're the best in the country, and we wanted to let everybody know. The Jaguars are on the prowl." That was never more evident than on a series late in the game when JSU, thanks in part to a personal foul penalty, set up with a first down at the Southern 15. For the sake of pride if nothingelse, the Tigers needed to punch it in. The first play was an 8-yard pass completion.

The second was a sack. The third was a sack. The fourth was a botched snap that had the effect of a sack. In those three plays, JSU backed up 33 yards. "We may have to go back to the drawing board on offense," Carson said.

"After our first series, it was all down 10-16-93 1 2 3 4 SOUTHERN 7 6 3 0 16 JSU 3 0 0 0 3 FIRST QUARTER Second place is the best the Tigers can finish in the SWAC after falling to the Jaguars. By Derrick Mahone Clarion-Ledger Stan Writer Jackson State took the opening kickoff and ran two trick plays. TB Maurice Hampton threw a pass to WR Earnest Pate for 28 yards. QB Ricky Jordan hit Pate on a 23-yard pass on a flea-flicker play. Jordan hit WR Quincy Culberson for an 8-yard gain.

After Southern stopped JSU on the next two plays, Oliver Dean hit a 37-yard field goal. The field goal capped a five-play, 56-yard drive to give JS'U a 3-0 lead with 12:34 left. Southern SS Sean Wallace blocked Dean's 34-yard field-goal attempt with 9:11 left. Southern recovered a JSU fumble at the -Tigers' 40. QB Eric Randall hit RB Lindsey Scott on a 4-yard touchdown play to cap a 7-play, 41-yard drive.

Duane Fuller added the PAT to give Southern a 7-3 lead with 1:24 left. --'iJsc- Li ft Said linebacker Vingi Johnson: "We've got to keep the hope alive. You never know something may happen down the road. We have to finish out the schedule on a positive note. It just wasn't meant to be tonight." Despite being shut out of the end zone by the nation's top I-AA defense, JSU outgained Southern 263-220 in total offense.

"We couldn't muster any offense," JSU coach James Carson said. "Southern has the No. 1 defense in the nation and we expected them to play aggressive. After our first possession, things went downhill from there." Southern had 125 yards on the ground as JSU could only manage 80. Tigers quarterback Ricky Jordan was 14 of 29 passing for 160 yards.

He also got sacked five times. Reserve Darryl Asberry played some in the fourth quarter. "Ricky wasn't his usual self," offensive coordinator John McKenzie said. "In other games when he wasn't playing well, I brought Darryl in to motivate him. We tried to give Asberry some work when it meant something.

You can't point the finger at one person. It was a combination of things." But the main thing was an anemic offense. "The offense didn't give the defense a lot of help," Bliss said. "The defense gave us an opportunity, but we couldn't get the ball in the end zone." SECOND QUARTER Greg JensonThe Clarion-Ledger Southern quarterback Eric Randall avoids J-State linebacker Ricardo Carson. Jackson State's 16-3 loss to 16th-ranked Southern Saturday night was the Tigers' lowest scoring production since 1988.

However, that wasn't the bad news. The bad news had to be JSU's lost hopes of winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. "For the Jackson State fans, it was an embarrassing loss," tight end Isiah Bliss said. "We let the people down." After getting a 37-yard field goal from Oliver Dean on its first possession for a 3-0 lead, JSU couldn't muster any more points. The Tigers missed a 47-yard field goal and had a 34-yard attempt blocked to blow two scoring opportunities before a crowd estimated at 50,000 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

JSU dropped to3-3-l overall and 1-1-1 in the SWAC while Southern improved to 7-0 and 5-0 heading into next week's showdown with Alcorn State in Baton Rouge. "We've got a possibility to come in second," JSU defensive tackle D.J. Hollie said. "We can't hang our heads low over this loss. We've got some work to do." Randall hit WR Michael Green on a 21-yard scoring play to increase the Jaguars' lead.

LB Mario Perry blocked Fuller's PAT attempt, and Southern held a 13-3 lead with 11:41 left. THIRD QUARTER With Southern holding a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, the Jaguars capitalized on a JSU mistake. On third-and-13 at JSU's 47-yard line, JSU linebacker Fernando Smith was called for a personal foul penalty after jumping offsides to give Southern a first down. Three plays later, Southern quarterback Eric Randall connected with wide receiver Michael Green on a 21-yard touchdown play with 11:41 left. Linebacker Mario Perry blocked the extra-point attempt, and Southern held a 13-3 lead at halftime.

The Jaguars closed out the scoring with a 37-yard field goal from Duane Fuller with 13:13 left to increase its lead to 16-3 in the third. 1 "I'm elated with the football team," Southern first-year coach Pete Richardson said. "We had to adjust our defense after the first two pass plays, but we settled in and that is the mark of a good football defensive team. I'm happy to be 7-0." Said Southern strong safety Sean Wallace, who had two interceptions: "We 1 kept them out of the end zone. I'm happy about that.

Bring on Alcorn." iSU's Fred Bailey took the opening kickoff 57 yards to the JSU' 24-yard line. After the defense held, Fuller kicked a 37-yard field goal with 13:13 left as Southern held a 16-3 lead. The Tigers moved the ball to Southern's 39, but Dean's 47-yard field-goal attempt was short at 4:20. On JSU's next possession, backup QB Darryl Asberry's pass was picked off by Wallace. JSU DB Javis Knott blocked Fuller's 28-yard field-goal attempt.

FOURTH QUARTER Jordan was inserted back into the game and moved the Tigers to Southern's 20, but the ball turned over on downs. On a second-and-goal at Southern's 3, Jordan's pitch was fumbled and Jaguars DT Kendel Shello recovered with 52 seconds left. TEAM STATISTICS Alcorn takes care of business 31-10 JSU honors Payton By Derrick Mahone Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer SU JSU 21 35 9 17 1 2 1-0 2-2 18-169 9-71 29:05 30:05 Passes Completions Had. Intercepted Fumbles-lost Punts-Avg. Penalties-Yards Time of Possession Vs.

Prairie View 21-12-2 Passing yards 306 Rushing yards-TDs (-D-0 Total yards 305 1993 Season 210-109-9 Passing yards 1,797 Rushing yards-TDs 436-7 Total yards 2,233 Jackson State president James Lyons and athletic director W.C. Gorden presented Walter Pay-ton with a plaque before the game in recognition of the former Tiger player's induction into the NFL Hall of Fame. Payton, a native of Columbia, played at Jackson State from 1970-74 and is the school's No. 2 career rusher. "It is great being back here," Payton said.

Pro players honored: Jackson State also honored several former players who played in the NFL with certificates before the game. Current Minnesota Vikings fullback Robert "Bull" Staten was at the game. The Vikings have an open date today. Also in attendance were Ben McGee, Leon Seals, Bob Hill, who coached Pay-ton, Rodney Phillips, Claudis James, Roscoe Word, Jimmy Smith Sr. and Larry Hardy.

Louisiana connection: Jackson State backup quarterback Darryl Asberry is the only JSU player from Baton Rouge. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior played high school football at Southern Lab. This season Asberry has played in four games and has completed 1 of 4 passes from 12 yards. Dead even, but no ties: In 36 meetings, Jackson State and Southern have never tied. But the teams have split the 36 games evenly.

Both have won 18 times. JSU holds a decisive 13-6 edge in the last 19 games while Southern dominated the first 17 meetings 12-5. Southern's victory in Jackson Saturday night makes it five straight games that the visiting team has won the game. JSU Dean 37 FG; SU Scott 4 pass from Ran-dle (Fuller kick); SU Green 21 pass from Randle (Fuller kick); SU Fuller 37 FG. Attendance: 50,000 r- INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing Southern: Randall 9-(-3), Foster 3-15, Scott 27-91, Roberson 3-6, Preston 1-14, Walker 1-3; JSU: Jordan 12-25, Bester 3-4, Hampton 12-24, Johnson Passing Southern: Randall 9-21-1-96; JSU: Jordan 14-29-0-160, Hampton 1-2-0-28, Asberry 2-4-2-24.

Receiving Southern: Bailey 2-28, Walker 1-1, Scott 1-4, Green 2-37, Newman 1-6, Williams 1-14, Preston 1-6; JSU: Pate 4-78, Bliss 5-77, Culberson 3-18, Alvarado 1-7, Hampton 3-21, Allen 1-11. Mississippi Valley in 1989. "We didn't play as well as I would have liked but we came away with the win and that's all we wanted to do," Alcom coach Cardell Jones said. Prairie View lost to Alcorn 61-0 last year. Though the score wasn't as bad this time around, the Panthers were still no match for the defending SWAC champions.

Alcorn racked up 154 rushing yards, 358 passing yards and 23 first downs. McNair, Alcorn's junior Heis-man Trophy candidate, completed 12 of 21 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns in only three quarters of work. Junior backup Jerry Fletcher was 2-of-2 for 52 yards in the final quarter. "Overall, we didn't play that well," McNair said. "We came out sluggish in the first half, but we came out in the second half ready to play and put some points on the board." Alcorn went ahead 24-7 on its opening possession of the second half on a 38-yard touchdown pass from McNair to brother Tim McNair.

The scoring play capped a 4-play, 80-yard drive in which McNair was 3-of-3 for 87 yards after being sacked for a 7-yard loss. The next time the Braves had the The Braves hand Prairie View's Panthers their 30th straight loss. By Mark Alexander Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer LORMAN It wasn't Alcorn's best performance of the season. Then again it didn't have to be. After all, the Braves were playing Prairie View.

Steve "Air McNair threw two touchdown passes and Alcorn amassed 512 yards total offense Saturday as the Braves beat Prairie View 31-10 before a homecoming crowd of 10,500 at Jack Spinks Stadium. Alcorn looked sluggish at times in the first half and led just 17-7 at half-time against the SWAC's worst team. However, McNair led the Braves to two touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Alcom, ranked No. 15 in Division 1-AA, improved to 5-1 overall, 4-0 in the SWAC.

The Braves have won their last 11 SWAC games and remain undefeated (7-0) at Jack Spinks. Prairie View, which saw its losing streak extended to 30 games, fell to 0-6, 0-4 in league play. The Panthers haven't won since a 27-12 victory over ball, they went 53 yards on 10 plays capped off by a 1-yard TD run by running back Tito Davis. It was Davis' first carry of the season. The much-maligned Alcorn defense yielded 247 total yards to Prairie View.

"We didn't play very well today," linebacker John Thierry said. "The intensity just wasn't there." Alcorn scored on its first two possessions of the first half a 22-yard field goal by kicker Jamal Bowden and an 8-yard TD run by Harry Brown to take a 10-0 lead 1 1 minutes into the first quarter. Prairie View pulled to within 10-7 on a 52-yard TD run by running back Shannon Rhea on the final play of the first quarter. Alcorn travels to Baton Rouge next week for a much-anticipated matchup against Southern U. NEXT UP FOR JACKSON STATE The opponent: Grambiing State, 4-2 and 2-1 Where they're playing: Jackson Came time: 2 p.m.

JSU's record vs. opponent: 15-25-1 Last meeting: JSU 3 1 GSU 34 1 992) Valley stubs toe early, then falls flat in a 30-13 loss to UAB Devils give up a touchdown on a fumble on the game's first play from scrimmage. By Greg Abadie Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Wayne White recovered the loose ball in the VSU end zone for a touchdown just nine seconds into the game. From there, the Blazers, 4-2, rolled to a 30-13 non-conference victory before 9,500 at Magnolia Stadium, spoiling MVSU's homecoming in this first-ever meeting between the schools. "We got off to a real bad start," said Valley coach Larry Dorsey.

"I told the players if there's any doubt about a thrown ball being a lateral or pass to jump on it. We've been shooting ourselves in the foot all year." The Delta Devils, 2-3-1, did tie the game only seconds laterowever. Conja Rule returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to the UAB 49. The first play saw tailback David Arrington race down the right sideline, breaking three tackles for a touchdown, making it 7-7 with 14:30 left in the quarter. From there, UAB junior quarterback John Whitcomb took over.

He was 12-for-22 passing for 175 in the first half as the Blazers built a 24-7 halftime lead. Whitcomb, who had 1,132 yards passing coming into the game, finished 18-for-33 for 232 yards. "He's as good as any quarterback in this said UAB coach Jim Hilyer. "This really wasp't one of his better games, but he did a good job keeping our drives alive." After Valley pulled even, Whitcomb guided the Blazers 70 yards in 13 plays, including three completions for 47 yards to Derrick Ingram. David Thornton capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run for a 14-7 lead.

The Blazers added a Kevin Thomason 45-yard field goal and a Whitcomb 3-yard scoring pass to Ingram in the second quarter. The news got even worse for Valley as quarterbacks Cliff Robinson (ankle) and Honore Britton (knee) both suffered injuries in the first half. Third-siring junior quarterback Niyka Long arrived on the scene in the third quar- ter. He guided the Delta Devils on a 60-yard touchdown drive in his first series. Arrington 's 3-yard TD run cut the UAB lead to 27- 13.

The 5-foot-8 Long, who was originally suspended one game for disciplinary rea-1 sons, finished 6-for-17 passing for 42 yards and one interception. "We had to go get him out of street clothes," said Dorsey. "Our other quarter-' back (freshman Keith Poindexter) still needs more time to be ready for this Arrington led all rushers with 124 yards effi 17 carries. i I ITTA BENA From the game's first play of scrimmage, it was apparent that Mississippi Valley was in for a long Saturday afternoon. From its own 13, Valley quarterback Cliff Robinson's lateral went behind Cornelius Turner.

As the Delta Devils stood around, University of Alabama-Birmingham's.