Alcorn State Upsets Prairie View in Overtime

Alcorn State used a potent rushing attack to upset Prairie View for an overtime victory.

SWAC football's "Friday Night Lights" edition had Alcorn State using 125 rushing yards and a touchdown from Jarveon Howard to claim a 23-16 overtime victory against Prairie View.   

The 2022 season for the Braves was in freefall after three consecutive losses to SWAC West opponents. For the Panthers, a win would put them in the driver's seat to control the SWAC West division.  

Fred McNair knew a victory would give Alcorn a chance for a winning record this season. Conversely, Bubba McDowell and his crew hoped to conquer the Braves but eventually learned the harsh lessons of football.

Their opening half's performance was sluggish, riddled with penalties, and dropped football receptions.

Trazon Connley threw 13-of-26 attempts for 142 yards, a touchdown, and one interception and added 16 rushes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Prairie View's leading rusher Jaden Stewart carried 20 times for 94 yards.

Alcorn quarterback Tre Lawrence tossed 7-of-22 passes for 82 yards without a touchdown or interception. Jarveon Howard was the game's MVP, with 29 carries for 125 yards, one touchdown, and a host of big plays for the Braves.

Special teams played a critical role in the game for both ball clubs. Besides Alcorn's placekicker Noah Kiani's three field goals, blocked punts led to scoring for each team, and Prairie View's Luis Reyes' missed extra point helped to send the game into overtime.

Alcorn State took an early 9-0 lead off three Kiani field goals of 21, 46, and 23 yards. The Panthers had a mere 101 yards of offense in the first half compared to the Braves' 161 yards. Most of Alcorn's production was from 122 rushing yards off the legs of Jarveon Howard and Javonta Leatherwood.

Prairie woke up after halftime with three second-half scoring drives. Panthers quarterback Trazon Connley was unleashed and led a 12-play, 71-yard touchdown drive to cut the Braves lead to 9-7. 

Prairie View blocked a Noah Kiani punt in the Braves' territory at the 17-yard line. Nine plays later, the Panthers would claim from a Connley touchdown run through the Alcorn defense to lead at 13-9. Reyes missed the extra point, which hurt the Panthers later in the contest.

Connley led Prairie View to its third-straight scoring drive and increased their lead 16-9 after Reyes booted a 34-yard field goal with 14:36 remaining in the 4th quarter. The drive was nine plays, 31 yards, and took 4:22 off the clock.

Later, Alcorn answered with a 5-play, 34-yard drive, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run from Leatherwood to tie the game at 16 with 6:48 remaining.  

Neither team positioned itself to score before the final gun and extended the game into overtime. Prairie View won the coin toss, decided to defer, and gave Alcorn the football for the period's first possession.

Manny Jones ran a sweep to the right on the first play, reversed, and rushed for a 22-yard gain to the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Jarveon Howard bulldozed his way for a 1-yard go-ahead touchdown run. Noah Kiani assured a 22-16 lead with a successful extra-point attempt.

On the next play, a wide-open Collier Ricks dropped a pass from Trazon Connley near the goal line. A false-start penalty pushed the Panthers back five yards. Three plays later, the Prairie View offense would fail to pick up the first down and suffer a 23-16 overtime loss to Alcorn State.

Alcorn improved to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the SWAC West with a home showdown against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, Nov. 12. Coach McNair and the Braves didn't flinch and made to most of their chances Friday night.  

However, the Panthers must have heard the PA system blaring out Hall and Oates' "Missed Opportunities" while walking off the field. Prairie View drops to 5-4 on the season, although it clings to a 4-2 division lead before hitting the road to meet Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their final SWAC West contest. A win helps their argument for returning to the SWAC Championship game.