
Closeup of American football on field with yard lines.
The SWAC Attack
A rapid-fire recap of SWAC action from the state of Texas
Prairie View A&M 55, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 24
Prairie View came into this matchup looking to rebound from last week’s loss to Alcorn St. and maintain its lead over Texas Southern and Southern at the top of the SWAC West standings. Arkansas-Pine Bluff entered today’s contest seeking their first win in SWAC play.
The Panthers were flat in the early going, falling into a 10-0 hole in the game’s first 10 minutes. From there, it was all A&M for most of the first half. Prarie View erupted for 28 unanswered points on three Trazon Connley touchdown passes and a Jaden Stewart 4-yard touchdown run to take a 28-10 lead with three minutes to go until halftime. The Golden Lions would pull within 11 in the final minute of the half when they recovered an A&M fumble for a touchdown.
Prairie View came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, and the rout was on. The Panthers put up 20 unanswered points on two more Connley touchdown tosses and a Chris Herron 29-yard touchdown scamper for a 48-17 advantage at the end of the third quarter. The clubs would exchange touchdowns in the final 15 minutes as Prairie View would cruise to a 55-24 win.
A&M outgained Pine Bluff 491-301 yards and held the ball for 47:41 compared to just 27:19 for the Golden Lions. Connley tossed five touchdown passes while the Panthers logged 281 yards on the ground in the rout.
Prairie View improved 5-2 in conference play with the victory and remains in the top spot in the SWAC West.
Up Next: at Mississippi Valley St.
Texas Southern 41, Grambling 7
Texas Southern returns to conference play after dismantling Lincoln (CA), 37-2 last Saturday. Grambling enters tonight’s contest seeking its third consecutive win, having outscored the opposition 71-16 in the previous two games.
After the two clubs exchanged touchdowns to knot this one at seven, Texas Southern jumped back in front in the closing seconds of the first quarter on an Andrew Body 15-yard touchdown strike to Tavaris Achane. After the PAT was blocked, TSU found themselves on top 13-7. Texas Southern added to their lead in the final minute of the first half on Body’s second touchdown pass of the game, this one a 65-yarder to AJ Bennett. After a successful two-point conversion, TSU went to the locker room up 14.
Texas Southern would pick up right where they left off in the third quarter, adding a score on a pick-six by Isaiah Hamilton and another touchdown on an 11-play 54-yard drive that spanned 4:30. With the two-point conversion failing after both scores, TSU would take a 33-7 lead into the fourth quarter. Texas Southern would put an exclamation point on the win with a 6-play 66-yard touchdown drive and successful two-point conversion to close out the scoring and give TSU the 41-7 victory.
The stats were as lopsided as the score, with TSU outgaining Grambling 443-244 yards and winning the battle of turnovers 2-0.
With the win, Texas Southern improved to 4-3 in SWAC play, along with Southern and Alcorn St., TSU is just one game back of the top spot in the SWAC West standings.
Up Next: at Alabama A&M