SHREVEPORT, La. – It was a tale of two halves as Prairie View A&M (5-3, 4-2) scored 21 points in the second half en route to a 30-16 victory over Southern University (2-5, 1-4) in the inaugural Shreveport Classic at Independence Stadium.
Prairie View scored on its opening possession as they marched 10 plays in 83 yards to claim an early 7-0 lead. The drive belonged to Donald Babers as the senior running back rushed for 27 yards and recorded a 3-yard touchdown run. Southern answered on its following possession with a field goal from freshman William Griswold to climb within 7-3 at the 2:45 mark and moved ahead 10-7 on quarterback Jeremiah McGinty's 65-yard touchdown pass to LaQuinton Evans early in the second quarter. Southern kept the momentum going two drives later as Griswold drilled his second field of the afternoon for a 13-7 advantage with 4:42 remaining in the game.
After another stalled offensive series, the Panthers were bailed out by their special teams as defensive end Quinton Spears blocked a Josh Duran punt which rolled into the endzone for a safety and a 13-9 margin with 47 seconds left in the second stanza. However, Prairie View suffered a big letdown at the close of the half on its ensuing drive as quarterback K.J. Black fumbled the ball after an SU sack that was returned to the PV 15. Several plays later, Griswold nailed his third field goal of the night as the Jaguars went into the half ahead 16-9.
The Panther defense made the first big play of the second half as linebacker Raheem Cardwell stripped SU wideout Curry Allen and recovered the ball at the Jaguar 28. Two plays later, the game was tied as Black connected with wideout Shaun Stephens for a 22-yard touchdown pass at the 10:31 mark of the third quarter.
Prairie View A&M took the lead for good midway through the fourth stanza as Babers scored his second touchdown of the game for a 23-16 advantage at the 8:51 mark. The Panther defense made another big stand on the following drive as they forced SU to turn the ball over on downs. Seven plays later, wide receiver Glen Upshaw caught a pass from Black and made an acrobatic move for the team's final score of the night as he raced 38 yards untouched for the score.
Black passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns on 20 of 32 passing while Babers ran for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Brandon Bell and Shaun Stephens both went over 100 yards as the duo combined for 12 catches and 219 yards.
Prairie View, which has won three straight over Southern dating back to 2008, returns to action at Jackson State next weekend in Jackson, Miss. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
