Southern WR Brown makes a splash with key catches | South

Southern senior wide receiver Datraveon Brown had just one reception this season before the Alcorn State game, but he made the difference when it mattered most Saturday night.

Brown caught three passes for a game-high 59 yards against the Braves in a SWAC West showdown at AW Mumford Stadium. One was a 15-yard catch that set up Southern's first touchdown, a 20-yard run-by Noah Bodden. Another was a contested 37-yard catch that he hauled in for Southern's second touchdown.

“It was like the routine plays I make every day in practice,” Brown said of his touchdown. “It’s nothing the coaches haven’t seen. If I continue to make routine plays and trust my O-line, trust my quarterback, then I know my time will come at some point.”

Brown said he was ready to play after a week of his coaches telling him to step up his game. The playing time showed the confidence that both quarterback Bodden and the Southern coaches had in him.

“Just put the ball in the playmaker’s hands,” Bodden said. “That’s what they say and that’s what I did. It worked for us.”

Homecoming sale

As expected, Saturday's game was a sellout and created an atmosphere that the Jaguars were well aware of.

“It was electric,” coach Terrence Graves said. “Homecoming to Southern University? You couldn't ask for a better place. Whenever there's traffic on I-10, we have an opposing road. … It doesn’t get any better than this.”

The number of fans entering the Bluff was one of the largest crowds the athletic department said they had seen in the last decade. Officially, all of the stadium's 28,500 seats were filled, while the total number on campus, including latecomers, was estimated to be double that.

The sellout was Southern's first at home since Sept. 29, 2023, when Jackson State defeated the Jaguars 27-24.

Southern's SWAC start

Saturday's win gives Southern its first 3-0 start in SWAC play since 2019. That team defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Prairie View and Texas Southern before suffering its first conference loss to Alcorn State. Southern finished 5-2 in the league that season and advanced to the SWAC Championship, losing a rematch against Alcorn.

No quick start

Southern appeared poised to provide the fast start it had lacked in its previous SWAC games, but failed to capitalize on early opportunities. The Jaguars opened the game with a long drive that ended inside the Alcorn 5. They also forced two turnovers in the first quarter, but came up empty on both.

Southern was stopped twice on fourth-and-short opportunities. The first was fourth and second on the Alcorn 3 and the second was on the Alcorn 38 after that Horacio Johnson Interception.

Southern recovered two fumbles on Alcorn's ensuing possession. The first was nullified by a personal foul penalty, but the second came through Zac Yassinebrought Soutern into play at the Southern 38. Again, Southern went nowhere and knocked the ball away.

Captains

Southern captains were wide receivers Tyler Kirkwooddefensive back Horacio Johnson and linebacker Derrick Williams. The Braves won the toss and deferred the option to the second half. Southern received the opening kickoff defending the north end zone.

Numerology

Alcorn State leads the series 49-30-2 and has won 12 of its last 18 against Southern. That total includes a 2-0 Braves loss in the spring of 2020 and three Alcorn victories in SWAC championship games (2014, 2018, 2019). Including losses in 2021 and 2022, Alcorn has now lost its last three games in Baton Rouge. The Braves' last win at the Bluff was 20-3 in 2018, which was also a Southern homecoming game.