Tigers Fall In Emotional Overtime Thriller To Prairie View A&M

The first overtime in the history of the Labor Day Classic ended in Prairie View A&M’s favor as a field goal moved them past Texas Southern 37-34 inside Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday night.

TSU opened the contest on fire as they marched 54 yards in nine plays but missed a field goal on its opening attempt. On TSU’s second drive, Jyrin Johnson caught three passes for 27 yards and moved TSU in the red zone but the Tigers had to settle for a 20-yard Curtis Falkenburg field goal as they led 3-0 with 7:20 in the first quarter,

Prairie View A&M answered on the ensuing drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Trazon Connley to Jahquan Bloomfield for a 7-3 lead after the PAT. TSU would fumble the kickoff minutes later and the Panthers made them pay as they scored another touchdown to lead 14-3 with 2:08 left.

TSU refused to go back down as the answered with a vengeance as AJ Bennett caught a nine yard touchdown to cap off an eight-play, 73-yard drive from Andrew Body to open the second quarter. PVAMU responded with a 23-yard field goal for a 17-10 margin. Both teams traded interceptions and TSU would capitalize on Javius Williams’ pick as Body connected with Bennett for a 35-yard strike as Falkenburg tied the contest at 17-all with 5:18 left. 

Williams opened the third quarter with a big momentum swing as his fumble recovery off a Michael Akins’ strip set up a 16-yard Quay Davis touchdown from Body. The TSU defense forced a punt and TSU marched 55 yards as Falkenburg’s 37-yard field goal moved the score to 27-17. Another PVAMU punt led to another explosive offensive play as LaDarius Owens burst through the seams and recorded a 77-yard touchdown run and a 34-17 lead towards the end of the third quarter. Prairie View A&M managed to respond as the quarter came to a close with an 11-yard touchdown run to cut the lead 34-24.

TSU threw an interception on its second drive of the quarter but the defense forced a turnover on downs to regain the ball. However, the Tigers had another interception and the Panthers responded with a field goal to draw within 34-27. Despite picking up two first downs on its next drive, TSU was forced to punt and the Panthers delivered a back-breaking drive which saw them score a touchdown with 49 seconds left which set up the first overtime in the history of the Labor Day Classic.
 
TSU failed to move the ball to open overtime and missed a 42-yard field goal. The Tigers came up big on defense with a pair of tackles for loss but the Panthers sealed the contest with a 35-yard game-winning field goal.
 
TSU racked up 486 yards of offense as Body finished 18-of-38 for 286 yards. Owens rushed for 104 yards on eight carries while Quay Davis caught seven passes for 120 yards. Jacob Williams led the defense with nine tackles, three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.
 
TSU is back in action at Toledo on Saturday afternoon.