The Panthers (2-1) defeated conference foe Southern University (2-1), 26-23 in a thrilling overtime fashion. The victory marked the first time since 1988 that the Panthers have been able to put a notch into the loss column for the Jaguars.
Southern received the ball first, but after one play, junior defensive back Edward Moore picked off the pass and gave the Panthers possession. Seven plays and 48 yards later, senior running back Kerry Wilson plunged into the end zone from one yard out. A missed extra point left the Panthers ahead, 6-0.
The rest of the first quarter went scoreless and remained so until the 10:46 mark of the second quarter when Southern got onto the scoreboard with a 44-yard field goal. After a Panther punt, Southern once again scored, this time from an 11-yard pass from JC Lewis to Brian Washington. The Jaguars took a 10-6 lead into halftime.
Southern got the second half scoring going on a 25-yard field goal to increase the lead to 13-6. The Jags were able to score yet again at the outset of the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run by Kendall Addison. Southern was sitting on a comfortable 20-6 lead.
The Panthers were unable to gain offensive momentum until red shirt-freshman Derrick Williams recovered a Jaguar fumble to give the Panthers a fighting chance in the waning minutes of the final period. The Panthers were able to capitalize on the gift by driving 62 yards on 11 plays, culminating with junior quarterback Chris Gibson’s one yard TD run with 2:52 remaining in the game. The Panthers were still trailing 20-13 when lady luck once again showed her face when Southern fumbled once again, this time recovered by senior linebacker Van Sallier. With 2:11 left in the game, the Panthers engineered a 33-yard touchdown drive on eleven plays when Fontenot tied the contest with a 3-yard run with 18 seconds left to force overtime.
In the overtime period, Southern was only able to tack on a field goal from 27 yards out. On the Panthers’ possession, Fontenot once again played the hero by tacking on the game-winning score, his second touchdown of the game from 14 yards out. Wilson led all Panther rushers with 76 yards on nine carries. Fontenot finished with 70 yards on 22 carries to go with his two scores. Senior defensive end Jermaine McGhee led the Panther defenders with 10 tackles, including two sacks.
The Panthers return to action on September 23 to host the Langston Lions at Blackshear Field.