Alabama State Defeats Southern With Strong Second Half

The Hornets cooled a hot start from the Jaguars to take the season opener at home.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After a slow start to the game, Alabama State used a strong second half to defeat Southern University 14-10.

Dematrius Davis completed 71.4% of his passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Both were caught by Kisean Johnson, who finished with nine catches and 107 yards.

Southern's Harold Blood finished 17-for-33 with one touchdown and two interceptions. Gary Quarles and Kobe Dillon were the feature backs for the Jaguars, combining for 17 attempts, but it only amounted to 55 combined yards.

Kendrick Rhymes caught the only touchdown for Southern, a highlight of his 3-catch, 21-yard night.

Both teams showcased their offenses in the first half. For Southern, quarterback Harold Blood delivered accurate throws across the field, including a touchdown pass to Kendric Rhymes at the back of the end zone to give the Jaguars an early 7-0 lead.

Alabama State's offense contrasted with Southern's offense. While the Jaguars spread the ball around with Blood and his receivers, Hornet quarterback Dematrius Davis was involved in many screen plays, and Ja'Won Howell was featured in both traditional run plays and direct snaps.

The efforts came to fruition when Davis hit Kisean Johnson for a screen pass, and Johnson tied the game on a 43-yard run. The score was tied 7-7 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Southern reclaimed the lead on a 40-yard field goal from Joshua Griffin. Alabama State had a chance to respond after pushing the ball 50 yards down the field. But Jaydon John was unable to convert.

Southern had plenty of momentum on offense with its balanced attack, but Alabama State's defense kept them off the board after the field goal. At halftime, the score was 10-7 Southern.

The Jaguars had a better feel for the Hornets' compact offensive style, stacking the box and creating more tackles for loss. But Davis and Co. still found success running the ball and using screens to spread the defense.

Defensively, the Hornets stifled the Jaguar offense in the third quarter, holding Southern to zero yards of offense on the first three drives. Alabama State has also forced two turnovers: a fumble recovery on the second drive and an interception on the third.

Davis made the most of the fumble recovery, throwing a 17-yard pass to Johnson to give Alabama State a 14-10 lead with 5:42 left.

The interception gave the Hornets the ball at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, where the drive ended in another missed field goal from John.

After consecutive punts, the Jaguars received the ball, the clock now working against them. Blood was able to push the ball down the field, but a lousy pitch led to a fumble, which Stefon Young-Rolle recovered.

The Hornets failed to take advantage and punted again, returning the ball to Southern with 4:39 left in the game. Blood completed a 24-yard pass to Colbey Washington to get Southern across midfield, but a sack and unsportsmanlike conduct ended the drive and sealed the deal for Alabama State.

The offense tended to Davis' weaknesses, but when he needed to make the throws, he made them when it counted. Blood looked solid in his starting debut, but he and his team need to bounce back against Jackson State.