Southern’s offense proved up to the challenge Saturday against Alcorn State, the highest-scoring team in FCS, with quarterback Christian Johnson and running back Trey Holly combining to lead the way..
The Jaguars earned a 41-28 victory on Saturday at A.W. Mumford. With the win, Southern (6-5, 4-3 SWAC) remains in contention for the SWAC West Division crown.
The Jaguars took the lead after a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Mike Franklin, giving the Jaguars a 34-28 advantage with 1:44 left in the third quarter. They sealed the win with a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Holly with 1:04 left in the game and then an interception by linebacker Tay James, who went out of bounds with 15 seconds remaining.
Southern’s last score was set up by the first turnover of the game when De’Myrion Johnson, a former LSU defensive tackle, forced the ball loose, and the fumble was recovered by defensive back Donald Johnson
Alcorn State was not only the best offense in the SWAC but entered the game first in the FCS in scoring (42.5 points), second in passing yards (3,049) and third in total offense (4,874). Braves quarterback Jaylon Tolbert, a senior, showed why on the first play of the third quarter. Tolbert flicked a deep pass to Jarvis Rush, who was completely uncovered. The mistake by Southern resulted in an 88-yard touchdown, and after a successful extra point, Alcorn State took a 28-27 lead with 11:29 remaining in the third quarter.
Before Franklin’s response to regain the lead, Southern had to keep up with the high-powered Braves’ offense. While Southern preferred to stick with its identity as a running team, Faulk leaned much more on Johnson, the Hutchinson Community College transfer.
He started to take control during a 13-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that gave Southern a 27-21 lead with eight seconds before halftime. During the drive, Johnson had a gritty 25-yard scramble on third-and-12 and threw the ball seven times, including the 3-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone to 6-foot-6 freshman tight end Isiah Pina.
After throwing 22 passes in the last two games combined, Johnson completed 17 of 24 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns
Holly, as expected, was still the centerpiece of the Southern offense. The 5-foot-7, 192-pound running back was impactful immediately. On his second touch, he ran for 47 yards. Holly received excellent blocking from his offensive line and wide receivers to create a gap on the left side, dodged a lower-body tackle attempt and was eventually chased down by linebacker Jayden Davis, who dragged him down at the 4-yard line.
Holly’s speed and relentlessness allowed him to run for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts in the first quarter. His shorter runs were also effective as he bounced off the first contact often and routinely fell forward.
After Holly had a 19-yard reception with a little under 2 minutes left before halftime, he didn’t return to close the second quarter after getting shaken up. However, he played the rest of the second half.
He finished with 33 carries for 154 yards and three touchdowns.
Southern stayed true to its brand of football. It executed 10 straight run plays before having Johnson execute a play-action pass play with a little under four minutes remaining in the game. The pass went for 30 yards to wideout Daejawn Smith on a crossing route toward the right sideline.
Two run plays later, Holly punched in his second rushing touchdown of the game, giving the Jaguars a 13-0 advantage with 2:36 remaining in the first period.
Johnson, on limited attempts, was efficient, often throwing when Alcorn State least expected. One of senior adviser Fred McNair’s sharper play calls was for a three-yard touchdown pass that gave the Jaguars a 20-7 lead with 11:19 left in the second quarter. Johnson faked a halfback toss to Holly and fired a pass to the left corner of the end zone to 6-9 tight end Emeka Iloh.
Faulk knew his defensive backfield would be critical to his team’s chances of being the high-powered offense of Alcorn State. Ty Lee, his top cornerback, was active early. While he had a dropped interception bounce off his chest, the redshirt sophomore also broke up two potential big-time passes.
Ckeby Givens also made life easier for his defensive backs. On a third-and-22 from Alcorn’s 46-yard line, Givens eluded a blocker on the left edge and brought Alcorn State quarterback Jaylon Tolbert down for his first sack of the first quarter.
Givens finished with two sacks and now holds the record for most career sacks in program history (41).
Southern will close the regular season when it faces Grambling at 1 p.m. on Nov. 28 at the Caesars Superdome for the Bayou Classic.
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