NEW ORLEANS — Kendrick Rhymes ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard sprint two plays into the second half, and Southern came up with two big goal-line stands to beat Grambling 27-22 Saturday afternoon in the 50th Annual Bayou Classic at the New Orleans Superdome.
Southern's interim football coach, Terrence Graves, a former head coach at Grambling, became the first coach in the history of the Bayou Classic to lead both schools to wins.
Myles Crawley capped a 13-play, 97-yard first-quarter drive that gave Grambling a 7-0 lead after one quarter, but the Jaguars responded with four straight touchdowns to take a 27-7 lead early in the fourth — a run that included Joshua Griffin's return of a blocked Grambling field goal attempt for a touchdown just before halftime.
Grambling's defense started a second-half comeback. Andrew Jones got it started with a pick-six and Southern gave up a safety when Robens Beauplan kneeled in the end zone to receive the snap on a Southern punt for a safety to make it 27-16 with 6:58 left in the third quarter, but Southern came up with clutch fourth-down plays. Jordan Carter stepped in front of a Crawley pass in the end zone to prevent a Grambling touchdown, and after Floyd Chalk IV ran for a 3-yard touchdown to pull Grambling within five, 27-22 with 7:02 left, Demetri Morsell knocked down a fourth-down pass in the end zone to save the Southern victory.
Noah Bodden was 13 of 26 for 231 yards and a touchdown with an interception for Southern (6-5, 5-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference). August Pitre III caught four passes for 118 yards.
Crawley was 19 of 30 for 183 yards with an interception to lead Grambling. Chalk carried 22 times for 172 yards and a touchdown and Chance Williams had 19 carries for 87.
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