The Alabama State University Hornets managed to hold off the Southern University Jaguars resulting in a final score of 14-10. The Hornets secured their fifth straight Labor Day Classic win. The defense pitched a second half shutout to secure the win – a game that came down to the wire.
Southern received the ball first and ‘came out the gate swinging.’ The Jaguars’ quarterback, Harold Blood, managed to convert a third and six in the Hornets’ red zone to keep their drive alive. On third and 10, Blood threw a 16-yard touchdown to give the Jaguars the lead 7-0.
Hornet head coach Eddie Robinson Jr. announced earlier this week that Demetrius Davis would be the starting quarterback for the season opener. Davis completed eight passes without an incompletion. The Hornets running back, Jaylen Sulton, caught a pass in the backfield and took it 17 yards for a first down. A few plays later, the Hornets scored a touchdown of their own when Kisean Johnson took a screen pass and raced all the way to the goal line for a 43-yard touchdown with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
On the Jaguars second possession, they quickly made their way past midfield. Jaguar wide receiver George Qualls Jr. had a 20-yard reception. They managed to get into the Hornets’ red zone, but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Jaguar kicker Joshua Griffin to extend their lead to three. The Hornets came up empty handed as they could not convert on the third down and missed a field goal.
The Hornet defense stood strong and quickly forced the Jaguars to punt, giving the offense a chance to score with only three minutes left until halftime. The drive started off promising as the offense got past midfield due to a catch and run by Hornet wide receiver Tyree Saunders and a run from running back Sulton. The Jaguars’ defensive line sacked Davis on back to back plays, which led to the Hornets having to punt. Southern went into halftime leading 10-7.
After halftime, both offenses struggled to get anything going in the third quarter. Midway through the third quarter, the Hornet defense blitzed quarterback Blood and caused him to lose the ball, which was recovered by the defense and gave the Hornet offense the ball back. Davis capitalized and threw another touchdown to Kisean Johnson to take the 10-14 lead with 5:38 left to go in the third quarter.
On the next possession for the Jaguars, they turned the ball over once again. Linebacker Rhoody Jean-Louis snatched the ball out of the air. The Hornets drive stalled after a few misfires from Davis resulting in kicker Jayden John missing a field goal, from 47 yards out.
The Jaguars started to pick up momentum. Wide receiver Darren Morris caught a pass for 15 yards to pick up a first down. Running back Gary Quales Jr. ran for three yards to convert a third and one, followed up by a scramble by Blood to pick up six yards. A promising drive ended in another fumble that was recovered by Hornet defensive lineman Stefon Young-Rolle.
The offense could not get anything going and was forced to punt the ball with 4:39 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars ran for five yards on first down, then Blood went incomplete on his next two passes which set up a fourth and five. The Jaguars decided to go for it and converted when Colby Washington caught a slant for a big gain to keep the Jaguars chances alive. A quarterback sack put the offense in a tough spot with a fourth and 28.
The Hornets had the ball with a minute left in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars used their timeouts to prevent the Hornets from running the clock out and forced them to punt the ball with 47 seconds left in the game.
The Jaguars started on the 20-yard line, attempting to win the game. On the first play, Hornet cornerback, Mikey Victor, sealed the deal for the Hornets with the game-winning interception.
The Hornets stunned the Jaguars, who were predicted to win the game. They snapped a five game losing streak against Southern. The player of the game was Kisean Johnson, who caught nine passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
