Oct. 15, 2007

Final Stats

Jackson State's Jimmy Oliver passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns and Eric Perri kicked three field goals and every extra point as the Tigers beat the Southern Jaguars, 32-26 Saturday night at AW Mumford Stadium.

Oliver finished 21-for-31 with three interceptions for Jackson State (4-2), which remained unbeaten in four Southwestern Athletic Conference games. The loss was the second in a row for Southern (5-2, 3-2).

The teams traded scores for the first two quarters. An 8-yard pass from Oliver to Jaymar Johnson was answered by Bryant Lee's 31-yard pass to Darren Coates. Perri's 27-yard field goal was followed by Lee's 30-yard touchdown pass to Gerard Landry.

Chris Johnson scored on a 5-yard pass from Oliver, and Lee and Landry connected again at 7 yards with 21 seconds left in the half to put Southern up 20-17 at halftime.

Lee finished 21-for-29 for 254 yards and three touchdowns, before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

Jackson State marched the ball 92 yards on 10 plays and Oliver threw 21 yards to Jaymar Johnson to put the Tigers ahead for good at 24-20 with 7:29 left in the third quarter. Perri's 37- and 27-yard field goals put the game out of reach.

Nick Benjamin caught a 22-yard pass from Warren Mathews to bring Southern close again, 30-26, but Sam Washington had a safety for the final margin.

Erik Haw led all rushers with 135 yards on 23 carries for Jackson State.

The Jaguars rushing attack was halted in its tracks. The Jags who came in averaging 172.3 rushing yards per game, was held to a season-low 23 yards on 20 carries. Clevan White, a wide receiver, led SU with 21 yards on one carry. Bryant Lee had six carries for 13 yards.

Darren Coates led the Jags receiving corps, with eight catches for 110 ayrds and one touchdown. Clevan White had a career-high eight catches for a career-high 107 yards. Gerard Landry had six catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns, keeping his streak alive of catching a touchdown in every game this season, and he has also caught a pass in 33 consecutive games.

Defensively, Brian Lewis finished with 11 tackles (7 solo), as did defensive lineman, Dwayne Charles. Vincent Lands had 10 tackles and one sack, and Glenn Bell also had 10 tackles and an interception.

Southern will host Alcorn State University at 3:00 pm on Saturday, October 20, for Senior/Family Day.