PINE BLUFF -- The big start held up.
Senior quarterback Ben Anderson and sophomore receiver Willie Young helped Arkansas-Pine Bluff to take early command of a 24-14 victory over the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils on Saturday before a crowd 2,349 at Golden Lion Stadium.
Young caught touchdown passes of 10 yards in the first quarter and 8 yards in the second quarter to help UAPB (3-5, 2-4 SWAC) take a 17-0 first-half lead.
Mississippi Valley (2-7, 1-6) pulled within 17-7 on a 73-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Quantavius Peterson with 5:51 left in the second quarter, but defensive stops by UAPB in the second half kept Mississippi Valley from getting any closer.
Anderson connected with Young for a 59-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that served as the knockout blow in the Golden Lions' second consecutive victory.
"It was just a matter of the guys coming together," UAPB Coach Monte Coleman said. "That's a simple answer, but it's correct. We haven't changed players. We haven't changed schemes. We've added some things and taken away some things, but overall it's the same stuff.
"The guys have just come together."
Young had nine catches in the first half and finished the game with 10 for 175 yards. His were the most receptions in a game for UAPB since 2010, when Raymond Webber caught 11 in three different games.
"He ran good routes," Anderson said. "He played a good game. He didn't have any drops. He just played a good game."
Young said he and Anderson had a good week of practice together
"Me and Ben, we've really been working together hard," Young said. "So this game today, it kind of felt like practice. I was just trying to stay focused and run my routes and try to contribute to the team."
UAPB junior running back Brian Handley carried 16 times for 160 yards. He had 131 yards at halftime and has 353 of his 532 yards this season in the past two games.
Three second-half possessions for Mississippi Valley reached the UAPB 24, 23, and 13. They ended with two missed field goals and an interception by freshman defensive back Lawrence Mosely.
"They made it hard, but every time I thought we'd get in there," said Peterson, who was 9 of 24 passing for 195 yards with 2 interceptions. "We always kept the faith."
"We're taking baby steps, but we're going to get there," first-year Mississippi Valley Coach Rick Comegy said. "We have a group of guys [who] want to win, who are dying to win. There were two schools out here struggling to get that win, and we didn't quite get it."
UAPB had 443 yards of total offense. Mississippi Valley had 416.
"We let down a little defensively, gave them some plays, bent but didn't break," Coleman said. "We took the ball away, which we pride ourselves in doing. Defensively we played well. We gave up some yards, but then we stopped them when we had to."
UAPB junior defensive end Demarcus Berry had two sacks Saturday after getting two in UAPB's 38-37 victory at Texas Southern last Saturday.
"We had a good week of practice and it showed today," Berry said. "We didn't really make any big adjustments, we're just coming together. We're putting everything together. We're playing as a team."
Mississippi Valley scored late in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard pass from senior quarterback Patrick Ivy to senior receiver Julian Stafford to complete the scoring.
Ivy entered the game in the third quarter after Peterson strained his back and neck when he successfully dived for a fumble.
"We kept getting down there close, but we didn't capitalize on opportunities," Comegy said. "[UAPB] played well. I'm not taking anything away from them. They played well."
SOUTHERN 28, ALABAMA STATE 21
BATON ROUGE, — Austin Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead Southern (6-3, 5-1) over Alabama State (4-5, 3-4).
Howard’s 9-yard touchdown run gave the Jaguars the lead for good with 9:20 remaining. The Hornets couldn’t answer when three fourth quarter drives stalled in their own territory.
Howard threw an 18-yard TD pass to Willie Quinn, and connected with Reggie Travis for a 23-yard score as Southern took an 18-14 lead with 9:29 to play in the third quarter. Greg Pittman kicked his third, 40-yard field goal to stretch Southern’s lead to seven.
Southern has won four consecutive, but couldn’t gain ground on West Division leader Grambling State which defeated Texas Southern 35-7 Saturday night.
ALABAMA A&M 25,
JACKSON STATE 14
JACKSON, Miss. — Chris Leachman threw for 270 yards with three touchdowns and Alabama A&M defeated Jackson State.
Leachman threw touchdowns of 60 yards to Jonathan Dorsey and 25 yards to Montaurius Smith for a 16-7 halftime lead.
A holding penalty by Jackson State that resulted in a safety and Leachman’s 44-yard touchdown connection with Dorsey put Alabama A&M (4-5, 3-3) ahead 25-7.
La Montiez Ivy hit Jairus Moll for a 34-yard score early in the fourth quarter. Jackson State (3-6, 1-5) threatened late, but couldn’t convert a fourth-and-3 at the Bulldog 14 with six minutes left. Ivy drove the Tigers to the Bulldog 21 on the next series, but his pass was intercepted by Harvey Harris.
Ivy had 349 yards on 36-of-53 passing with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Dan Williams had 108 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Sports on 11/02/2014