Grambling escapes, Southern stumbles as big leads crumble across SWAC

BATON ROUGE, La. — Building a lead proved easier than protecting one Saturday across the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Grambling State, Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State each overcame double-digit deficits to win conference games Oct. 3. Southern experienced a different reversal, taking an early homecoming lead before Arkansas-Pine Bluff scored 34 unanswered points for a 41-10 victory.

The results made finishing games the defining theme of Week 5, with three conference contests decided by four points or fewer.

Southern’s promising start faded at A.W. Mumford Stadium before an announced crowd of 21,890. Wyatt McCauley found Daejawn Smith for a 20-yard touchdown on the opening possession, and a field goal put the Jaguars ahead 10-7 late in the first quarter.

Southern never scored again.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff moved ahead 17-10 by halftime and added 17 points in the third quarter. Garrison Davis passed for 154 yards and rushed for 92, while Demetric Whitlock Jr. led the Golden Lions with 94 receiving yards.

The loss dropped Southern to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Arkansas-Pine Bluff improved to 3-2 and 1-1. Trey Holly rushed for 114 yards for the Jaguars.

In Grambling, the homecoming celebration survived a far more dramatic finish.

Ashton Frye threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyson George with 19 seconds remaining to lift Grambling State over Alcorn State 63-59 at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.

Alcorn led 59-42 with 10:18 left, but Grambling scored the final 21 points. Frye connected with Nae’Saan Dickerson for a touchdown, D’Shaun Ford added a 1-yard scoring run and George completed the comeback.

The winning possession covered 76 yards and included Jordan Bride receptions of 51 and 24 yards.

George caught six passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns. Frye passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for two more scores.

The teams combined for 122 points and 1,165 yards. Alcorn quarterback Jaylon Tolbert passed for 411 yards and five touchdowns, but the Braves could not protect their late advantage. Grambling reached 60 points for the first time since 2018.

Mississippi Valley State delivered another comeback in Itta Bena, Mississippi, overcoming a 24-0 deficit to beat Prairie View A&M 28-27.

Josh Brown rushed for touchdowns of 9, 13 and 62 yards before finding Caleb Brownlow for a 35-yard touchdown with 2:11 remaining. Luka Sari’s extra point supplied the winning margin.

Prairie View quarterback Tevin Carter rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns, but the Panthers managed only three points after halftime.

The Delta Devils improved to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the SWAC. Prairie View fell to 2-4 and 2-1, absorbing its first conference loss.

In Mobile, Alabama, No. 23 Jackson State scored 21 fourth-quarter points to defeat Alabama A&M 31-28 in the Gulf Coast Challenge at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The Bulldogs led 21-10 entering the fourth quarter and 28-17 with 8:22 remaining. Jackson State answered with Li’Darious Pryor’s 29-yard touchdown run, then capitalized on a turnover with Jared Lockhart’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Kobe Paul.

Jackson State improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Alabama A&M fell to 4-2 and 1-1 despite Cornelious Brown IV’s three touchdown passes and rushing touchdown.

Bethune-Cookman held off Alabama State 16-10 in Daytona Beach, Florida, in a game interrupted by a 75-minute lightning delay.

The Wildcats built a 16-3 lead, then stopped a fourth-and-1 attempt during a late Alabama State drive. Bethune-Cookman improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference; Alabama State dropped to 3-2 and 1-1.

In the weekend’s lone nonconference matchup, Texas Southern lost 66-10 at Florida Atlantic. The Owls scored 49 first-half points and recorded the largest victory margin in program history.

Texas Southern fell to 1-4 overall. Florida Atlantic improved to 4-1. Florida A&M was the only SWAC team idle.

The next slate includes Southern at Prairie View, Jackson State at Grambling and Bethune-Cookman at Alabama A&M on Oct. 10 — immediate opportunities for teams to build on their escapes or respond to leads that slipped away.