BATON ROUGE, La. – Prairie View A&M University football and Southern will meet in a Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division showdown Saturday at 4 p.m. at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
The PVAMU Sports Network Radio Broadcast will begin with the pregame show at 3:30 p.m. on Synergy Radio 1480 AM and online at pvpanthers.com/sportsnetwork.
The matchup of two of the winningest teams in the SWAC since 2007 (Prairie View A&M 69 wins, Southern 67) has also been one of the league's most exciting head-to-head contests. The teams have nearly evenly split those last 10 meetings (PVAMU 6, SU 4), with the road team winning the last games. Southern is the only SWAC team to win at new Panther Stadium, holding off a PVAMU comeback in a 44-34 game last season.
Prairie View A&M's 47-42 win at Southern in 2015 featured one of the great individual performances in Panther football history as running back and Baton Rouge native Johnta' Hebert totaled nearly 400 all-purpose yards in scoring four touchdowns.
PVAMU has won three of the past four meetings at Southern, with all four games decided by a total of 13 points. The Panthers lost 62-59 in double overtime in 2013, and posted wins in both 2009 (16-14) and 2011 (23-20).
The Panthers (3-4 overall, 2-2 SWAC) are coming off a 34-17 homecoming win over Bacone College. Prairie View A&M jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead before pulling the starters in the second half.
Neiko Hollins threw a pair of touchdown passes, both to
Khadarel Hodge. The defense did not allow the Warriors to cross midfield in the first half, forcing seven punts and intercepting a pass which was returned for touchdown by
Ju'Anthony Parker.
Hodge, who has at least one touchdown reception in four straight games, leads the SWAC in touchdown receptions (six) and yards per catch (17.1), and is third in receiving yards (410). PVAMU LB
Jalyn Williams leads the SWAC in tackles for loss (13.5), while Parker is tied for second in the SWAC in interceptions (three). WR
Darius Floyd leads the SWAC in kickoff return average (33.6).
Southern (5-3, 3-1) has won four in a row, including a 47-40 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week. QB Austin Howard is second in the SWAC in touchdown passes (11) and third in passing yards (1219). RB Herb Edwards is second in the league in rushing yards (645). CB Danny Johnson is tied for second in the league in interceptions with Parker and two others.
