BATON ROUGE, La. - For the second time this season, placekicker Chris Barrick left the field with a smile as his 19-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining lifted Prairie View A&M to a 23-20 win over Southern on Saturday at A.W. Mumform Stadium.  The win marked a successful homecoming for head coach Heishma Northern in addition to moving the Panthers into sole possession of first place in the SWAC West.

Prairie View A&M began the game with a promising drive as they marched all the way to the SU 24 before turning the ball over via a fumble.  The Panther defense was on the verge of ending SU's opening drive until the Jaguars converted a 4th-and-3 followed by costly roughing the kicker penalty on 4th down several plays later which breathed new life into the SU offense.  Three plays later, the penalty came back to haunt PV as SU's Dray Joseph hooked up with Michael Berry for a 13-yard touchdown reception.

Down 7-0 entering the second quarter, the Panther offense came to life as they recevied solid field position after an SU punt.  Six plays later, freshman running back Fred Anderson found the endzone with a two-yard scamper as the Panthers tied the game 7-7 on Barrick's PAT.  In less than a minute, the tide of the game turned as senior cornerback Moses Ellis picked off his first pass of the season which resulted in a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown.  Barrick's PAT was successful as the Panthers claimed a 14-7 advantage at the 10:01 mark.

On SU's following possession, the Jaguars converted a 4th-and-1 and a 3rd-and-16 to keep the drive alive.  Several plays later, Southern cut its deficit to 14-13 and capped off the 17-play, 98-yard drive as Joseph found LaQuinton Evans for a 4-yard touchdown reception.  PV's special teams came up big on the PAT attempt as junior Donald Law blocked the kick which kept the score at 14-13 entering halftime.

In similar fashion to the first half, PV's second drive of the third quarter came to an end prematurely after a fumble at the SU 32.  The Panther defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive and the offense took advantage as Jermaine Waddy rushed in from three yards out as PV claimed a 20-13 lead.  However, the PAT attempt fell short which allowed SU to trail by only seven points.

As the third quarter came to an end, the Panther offense suffered another costly turnover as an interception led to a 38-yard touchdown return by Southern.  The PAT was good as both teams began the fourth quarter tied at 20-all. 

The fourth quarter was a defensive battle as the first five drives resulted in punts.  On the sixth drive of the quarter, the Panther defense came up big as defensive tackle Dwayne Chappell forced a fumble which was recovered by cornerback JohnMark Henderson at the SU 43.  With solid field position, the Panther offense dialed up the run as Anderson converted a key third down to keep the drive alive.  Three plays later, the Panthers were faced with a 3rd-and-9 situation but quarterback Jonathan Troast came up big as he found wideout Troy Minnick for a nine-yard first down reception to the SU 23. 

The Panthers played it safe from that point and stuck to the run as they worked their way up to the SU 2 via a series of Le'Darraye Groover runs.  With 10 seconds remaining on fourth down, the Panthers turned to Barrick for the potential game-winning field goal.  For the second time in four games, the Copperas Cove, Texas native left the field as the hero as his 19-yard attempt sailed through the uprights. 

Prairie View A&M finished the contest with 258 (161 R, 97 P) offensive yards to Southern's 257 (161 P, 96 R).  Anderson led the Panthers with 52 yards on 15 carries while Minnick caught seven receptions for 30 yards.  Linebacker Chris Townsend led PV with 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack while defensive end Adrian Hamilton and linebacker Marcus White had two sacks apiece. 

PV returns to action on Saturday as they'll face Alabama State in Montgomery, Ala. beginning at 1 p.m.  The contest will be tape-delayed on ESPNU at 9:30 p.m.