Box Score Baton Rouge, La. –
Arnold Walker carried the ball 28 times for 156 yards and two touchdowns as the Braves pick up their fourth straight win by defeating Southern 44-38 at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
The Braves struck first when
John Gibbs, Jr. connected with
Jordan Payne on 13-yard pass to give the Braves an early lead, 7-0.
Southern blocked a Braves' punt on fourth down which was returned by Randall Menard for a 6-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 13:31 to play in the second quarter.
Moments later the Braves drove down into Southern territory and
Tollette George converted on fake field goal placing the Braves inside the Jaguars five yard line. On the next play Gibbs rushed right up the middle for an eight-yard touchdown. The Braves went ahead 14-7 on Gibbs' touchdown.
Southern fired right back when Menard found the end zone once again on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Dray Joseph and the Braves and Jaguars were knotted at 14-14 with 7:20 to go before the half.
The Braves forced another Southern punt and drove down inside the Southern 10 but a penalty pushed the Braves back a few yards.
Haiden McCraney hit a 29-yard field goal to push the Braves lead to 17-14.
Just before the half the Braves were rewarded the ball after a short punt which put the ball in good field position for the Braves to score with 1:45 on the clock. The Braves marched down the field and Walker capped off the drive with a six yard touchdown to increase the Braves lead to 24-14 going into the locker room.
The Braves received the ball in the second half and scored immediately. After Walker converted on a fourth down, Gibbs, Jr. found senior wide receiver
Tavoris Doss for a 52-yard touchdown boosting the Braves lead to 31-14 with just over two minutes into the third quarter.
Southern responded quickly when quarterback Dray Joseph hit Nico Talbert for an eight-yard touchdown decreasing the Braves lead to 31-21 with 7:51 to play in the third quarter.
Another blocked punt put Southern in good field position inside the Braves 20-yard line. Justin Morgan rushed from nine yards out to cut the Braves lead to 31-28 at the 6:38 mark in the 3
rd quarter and just like that the Jaguars were right back in the game.
With only a few minutes into the 4
th quarter, Southern quarterback Joseph found Randall Menard for a 52-yard strike to give the Jaguars their first lead of the game 35-31 with 13:54 to go.
The Braves finally answered Southern with a touchdown of their own late in the 4
th quarter.
Anthony Williams III scrambled from 33 yards out to retake the lead from Southern 38-35 with 3:04 to play in the game.
But the Jaguars weren't done yet. With .24 seconds to play in the game Southern moved the ball all the way to the Braves 21 yard line and kicker Greg Pittman nailed a 38-yard field goal to tie the game at 38-38 to send the game into overtime.
After a sack to start the overtime, Anthony Williams intercepted a Southern pass and returned it for 88 yards inside the Jaguars ten yard line but because of the overtime rules the Braves had to start from the 25 yard line.
On the ensuing play, Walker pounded the ball and bounced off tacklers to score from 25 yards out to end the game.
Gibbs completed 16-of 28-passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 67 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown.
Junior safety
Devon Francois led the Braves with nine total tackles (5 solo, 4 assists) while
Damon Watkins recorded eight total tackles (5 solo, 3 assists).
The Braves (7-2, 5-1) complete their three-game road trip with a record of 3-0 as they return to Lorman for their final two home games vs. Alabama A&M next Saturday and Prairie View on Nov. 7
th.
