Guarantees are usually restricted to professional athletes and very rarely trickle down to the ranks of collegiate athletics. During the Labor Day Classic press conference however, the unwrtitten rule must have slipped Texas Southern’s head coach Johnie Cole’s mind as he promised victory in the 24th Annual Labor Day Classic at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. Coach Frazier’s reaction simply was, “Everything moving will get hit.” At 7 p.m., Aug. 30, Cole was quickly assured as the Panthers (1-0) hit hard and jumped out to a huge early lead to dismantle the Tigers (0-1) 34-14 in the annual rivalry.
The first play from scrimmage would prove to be an example of the Panthers’ dominating defense all night long, as Jamail Love picked off a pass during a trick play and landed on the TSU three-yard line. The next play PVAMU’s Calvin Harris rushed to the end zone with 14:39 left in the first quarter to give Prairie View a 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, Mark Spivey’s pass to Gabe Ediae ended up as a 27-yard scoring strike which bumped the lead to 14-0.
The Panthers’ offense continued their dominance by going back to the ground game as RB Donald Babers dived in past the goal line for a dramatic touchdown with 10 seconds left on the first quarter clock. Babers did not stop there because he bounced to the outside for a short six-yard run with just over 10 minutes left in the second quarter. After both rushing TDs, the Panthers’ lead swelled to 28-0. Micheal Jason scored the last PVAMU TD running seven yards with 6:48 left in the final period. Following the score, Brady Faggard missed his only extra-point of the day, finishing four of five.
The Tigers scored their only points of the game on a one-yard QB sneak by Bobby Reid and a 16-yard TD run by RB Michael Wright. The Panther defense led by 2007 SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Zach East, DB Anthony Beck and LB Gary Hicks held the Oklahoma State transfer in check the entire game grabbing five sacks and holding him to 10-of-19 for a total of 108 passing yards. The defense also recorded 10 tackles for loss demonstrating a much worse performance on the ground for the Tigers who only amassed five total yards rushing to the Panthers’ 236.The Tigers ended the game with 113 yards of total offense.
The Panthers’ rushing attack consisted of Babers’ 130 yard two TD performance, Jason’s 17 rushes for 78 yards and a TD, and Harris’ three carries for 17 yards and a TD. Mark Spivey ended the contest 9-of-14 for 121 yards, a TD and two INTs connected with eight different Panther receivers. Ediae and Kameco Andrew both caught two passes while a multitude of Panthers hauled in one.
The Panthers now move forward in their quest for the school’s first SWAC championship in decades by playing Texas College on Saturday, Sept. 6, at Blackshear Stadium and traveling to Sam Houston State on Saturday, Sept. 13, before jumping back into conference play.