around Baton Rouge, La., Sept. 15, as Prairie View suffered its first loss of the season to Southern University.
After a big win against North Carolina A&T last week in Los Angeles, Prairie View was looking to be the number one seed in the conference’s west division, with the first 3-0 start since 1964.
Prairie View received the first possession of the game, but was unable to generate any offense with two turnovers.
In the second quarter, quarterback Chris Gibson connected on two passes, and threw another interception. Southern’s Bryant Lee threw a 15 yard touchdown pass, as the PAT was missed, Southern took the 6-0 lead going into the half.
In the third quarter, both teams were going back and forth with neither able to score. Zach East forced a fumble, which Val Ford recovered, as Prairie View gained only 16 total yards in the third quarter. Discipline was key for Prairie View, as penalties kept the ball moving backward for the Prairie View offense.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Southern upped its offense as Nick Benjamin completed a 12-yard pass to Evan Alexander at the 14:55 minute mark, their two point conversion attempt failed.
Prairie View’s only score came when Southern was charged for holding in their own end zone, and Prairie View received the safety. Senior quarterback Mark Spivey came into the game and tried to give Prairie View a long awaited boost. Spivey pushed the ball all the way to the Southern 15-yard line. With 6:48 minutes left in the fourth, Spivey threw an interception, as Southern held on to the game and secured the conference win with the final score of 12-2.
“The defense had a great game,” said head coach Henry Frazier III. “The defensive line put a lot of pressure on the quarterback, also Calvin Harris and Pedro Ventura had a good game as well.”
Mark Spivey was 11 of 18 for 76 yards, and Chris Gibson connected on 11 of 26 passes for 69 yards. Anthony Weeden had eight catches for 63 yards, as Calvin Harris had 18 carries for 69 yards.
Leading the defense for the Panthers were Zach East with 15 tackles and one sack, Gary Hicks with 10 tackles, and Val Ford with 9 tackles.
The Panthers look to regroup, and fix mistakes next week during their open week. They will be getting ready for the much-anticipated match-up against Grambling State University for the annual State Fair Classic. The game will be played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 29 at 6.