The defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champions finally have their first victory of the season.
Ben Anderson threw two touchdown passes to Cody Swain and ran for two more as Arkansas-Pine Bluff defeated Mississippi Valley State 38-18 Saturday in Itta Bena, Miss.
It was UAPB’s first victory since it won the conference championship in December 2012, and it ended a string of seven consecutive losses, which tied for the longest losing streak since Coach Monte Coleman took over the Golden Lions program in 2008.
UAPB (1-7, 1-5 SWAC) finished with 484 yards of offense, with Anderson responsible for 392 of them. The junior from Little Rock completed 20 of 30 passes for 269 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and rushed 22 times for 123 times with touchdown runs of 3 and 2 yards in the third quarter.
Anderson’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Swain made it 7-0 in the first quarter, and Tyler Strickland’s 38-yard field goal gave UAPB a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
Patrick Ivy’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Richard Drake pulled Mississippi Valley to within 10-7 with 2:46 left in the second quarter, but UAPB’s Xavier Lofton scooped up a fumble and returned it 55 yards for a score that gave the Golden Lions a 17-6 lead going into halftime.
Anderson’s 3-yard run made it 24-6 early in the third quarter before Ivy connected for another long touchdown pass. This time it was to Kenneth Dabney and covered 64 yards as the Delta Devils (1-7, 1-5) pulled to within 24-12.
Anderson’s 2-yard touchdown run with 4:07 left in the third quarter made it 31-12, and Ivy’s 20-yard pass to Julian Stafford made it 31-18.
Swain’s 86-yard touchdown catch gave UAPB a 38-18 lead with 13:21 left, and the Golden Lions defense didn’t allow another score.
Mississippi Valley State punted on its next possession after the touchdown, while Kevin Rucker and Gyovanni Harvey ended Mississippi Valley’s final two possessions with interceptions as UAPB allowed only 10 yards in the final 13 minutes.
Ivy completed 13 of 33 passes for 233 yards with 3 touchdowns, but UAPB intercepted him twice and held the Delta Devils to just 57 yards rushing.
Swain finished with 6 receptions for 153 yards and 2touchdowns, while Jeremiah Young carried 11 times for 67 yards as UAPB rushed for 215 yards.
TEXAS SOUTHERN 23, GRAMBLING 17, OT
GRAMBLING, La. - Texas Southern (2-6, 2-5 SWAC) rallied from a 10-point deficit and defeated Grambling (0-9, 0-6 when backup quarterback Jamal Small plunged through the middle of the line for a 2-yard score in overtime at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium.
The defeat extended a pair of dubious streaks - 13 consecutive losses (dating to Oct. 20, 2012) and 19 games against NCAA competition (Dec. 10, 2011) - for Grambling and put a damper on a chaotic 10-day stretch that included a boycott, a forfeit and a swarm of national attention to the campus in rural Louisiana.
Initially, Grambling quarterback D.J. Williams showed no ill effects from the unplanned off week caused by his team’s forfeit to Jackson State. The son of Doug Williams, who fired as coach earlier this season, threw touchdown passes of 82 and 60 yards to give the Tigers to a 17-7 lead in the first half.
Behind Small, who replaced injured starter Homer Causey in the second half, Texas Southern tied the game early in the fourth quarter with a 20-yard pass from Small to Jaquaa Peters.
ALCORN STATE 44, SOUTHERN 38, OT
BATON ROUGE - Arnold Walker scored on a 25-yard run in overtime to lift Alcorn State to a wild victory over Southern University of Baton Rouge.
Alcorn State (7-2, 5-1) almost scored on Southern’s opening possession in OT when Jestin Williams returned an interception 88 yards, but he was tackled on the 4.
Southern (4-4, 4-2) had scored 21 consecutive points, including two Dray Joseph TD passes, to take a 38-35 lead but the Braves tied it on Greg Pittman’s 38-yard field goal with 38 seconds left.
Joseph completed 25 of 45 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns, two to Randal Menard, who had 119 yards on three catches.
Alcorn State countered with Walker, who had 156 yards and two TDs on 28 carries. John Gibbs Jr. had 239 yards passing for the Braves with two touchdowns, completing 16 of 28 passes, and ran for another score.
In other Southwestern Athletic Conference games, Daniel Duhart threw three touchdown passes to build a lead and help Alabama State (6-2, 6-1) move past rival Alabama A&M (2-6, 2-4) 31-7 in the 72nd annual Magic City Classic in Birmingham, Ala. ... Clayton Moore accounted for five touchdowns and Jackson State (7-2, 7-0) pulled away late to beat Prairie View (5-4, 4-3) 51-38 in Shreveport.
SATURDAY’S GAMES UAPB 38, Miss. Valley State 18 Texas Southern 23, Grambling St. 17, OT Alabama St. 31, Alabama A&M 7 Jackson St. 51, Prairie View A&M 38 Alcorn State 44, Southern 38, OT
Sports, Pages 30 on 10/27/2013