The Prairie View A&M University Panthers dominated the Shreveport Classic, defeating the Southern University Jaguars at the Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La., and placing themselves in the number two position in the western division of the SWAC conference.
Sophomore quarterback De’Auntre Smiley was the spark to get the Panthers fired up, throwing four touchdowns, passing 398 yards, and rushing for 175 yards with his longest rush being a 62-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Nelson Spencer kicked off the game on a good note by catching his first touchdown pass of the season from Smiley to give the Panthers the first lead of the game 7-0.
The Panthers rushed for 261 yards.
Deandre Cooper led with 122 receiving yards in the game.
Shutting the Southern Jaguars out the first quarter the Panthers allowed the Jaguars to kick a field goal at the beginning of the second quarter to give themselves a 3-7 score to Prairie View.
Stephan Meighan led the defense with 10 tackles, assisting with three of them. Deandre Cooper ended the first half with a 38 yard pass from quarterback Smiley leading 17-10.
In the third quarter, Southern scored two touchdowns catching a lead on the Panthers 23-21 with 8:13 left on the clock. Prairie View fought back scoring a touchdown, but the Jaguars answered back with another score ending the third quarter 29-28 Southern.
Being down, the Panthers fought back scoring the first touchdown in the final quarter from Gabe Dunlap to give the lead back to the Panthers 35-29. Not stopping there Nelson Spencer scored his third touchdown of the game to increase the score 42-29. To end the game Smiley goes on a 62 yard run ending the game.
The Panthers offense has come to life in their last three games averaging 44 points over the stretch. The Panthers have climbed back into contention, moving from last to second place in the western division of the SWAC. The University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff still holds a two game lead in the conference standings.
Due to his comeback performance Smiley was named Co-national Offensive Player of the Week. The Panthers will be competing in another SWAC game Saturday Nov. 3 at Blackshear Field.