ITTA BENA, Miss. – Texas Southern fought back with a touchdown in the final minute and held Mississippi Valley State off on its final drive to secure a 23-20 win on Saturday.
MVSU came out in a no-huddle, fast-paced offense and moved to the TSU 35 but a Dylan Pullen sack and Justice Ugo tackle for loss moved the Delta Devils back which forced them to settle for a 39-yard field goal at the end of its opening drive. After a TSU punt, MVSU went ahead 10-0 after a long drive which featured a run-pass mix as Evens Valcourt, Jr. scored from one yard in. TSU turned to its running attack to cut the deficit late in the first quarter as Da'veon Ford and Athean Renfro marched TSU to the MVSU 15. On a key play late in the drive, KJ Coooper eluded a rush by a MVSU defender and found Kerien Charlo for a 15-yard pass to the TSU 1. Two plays later, TSU punched it in from the one-yard line as Christian Avelar's kick was good for a 10-7 margin to open the second stanza.
MVSU had a successful opening drive to open the second quarter as it culminated in a touchdown reception and a 17-7 lead after the PAT. Both teams saw negative endings to its ensuing drives from that point as TSU punted along with a missed field goal while MVSU also had a missed field goal.
TSU had a promising drive cut short in the third quarter by a missed field goal and MVSU answered with a field goal to lead 20-7 at the 10:06 mark. The Tiger offense responded with their backs against the wall as they went on an 18-play, 75-yard drive which culminated with Renfro's two-yard touchdown run and a 20-14 deficit.
Both teams traded punts on its ensuing drives but special teams would turn the tide of the game for TSU early in the fourth quarter.
With the ball on the MVSU 24 and ready to punt, the Delta Devils had a snapping issue which forced the punter to kick the ball into his own endzone for a safety and 20-16 MVSU lead. Chaunzavia Lewis exploded on the free kick to the MVSU 30 but the offense had to start on the MVSU 45 due to a penalty after the play.
Trent Leary opened the next drive with a 25-yard reverse sweep to the MVSU 30 but a holding penalty moved the ball back to the MVSU 40. Renfro and KJ Cooper both had big runs to move the ball to the MVSU 25 but back-to-back fumbles stalled the drive as the latter landed in the hands of MVSU with 8:30 remaining.
TSU's Michael Akins took matters into his own hands with a huge, forced fumble at the TSU 31 as Isaiah Bogerty recovered the ball at the TSU 25. TSU would march down the field to the MVSU 29 but turned the ball over on downs as Cooper's knee touched the ground before his pass was made on a critical 4th-and-4.
MVSU was forced to punt late in the game but tried to execute a fake as the ball landed in the hands of the upback which ended up short and the ball back in TSU's hands with 1:56 left. Cooper went for the home run on the first play of the drive as he found a wide-open Leary for a 48-yard strike and a first down at the MVSU 5. Several players later, Renfro capped off the drive with an eight-yard touchdown and the TSU defense did the rest as MVSU hit on several big plays to move the ball but ran out of time after a long bomb which ended at the TSU 7.
TSU had 321 yards of offense (176 p, 145 r) as Renfro rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Charles George had 13 tackles while Michael Akins had four tackles for loss, a sack, forced fumble and pass breakup.
TSU is back in action Saturday against UAPB at 6 p.m. inside Husky Stadium on the Houston Christian campus.
