Finishing what they started

• By PERRYN KEYS
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 1, 2009

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PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Like a tractor plowing across fertile farmland, Arkansas-Pine Bluff churned along, battering through the Southern defense for steady gains.

Sure, the Jaguars had a seven-point fourth-quarter lead. But their defense was tired, and their offense seemingly hadn’t been on the field since Bill Clinton roamed the White House.

Saturday afternoon, on a beautiful, sun-drenched afternoon at Golden Lion Stadium, before Southern had salted away a 24-10 victory, the Jaguars were in trouble.

What would happen if UAPB tied the score? What then? Overtime? Another late collapse?

Standing on the sidelines, SU tight end Warren Matthews could barely watch.

“It was crazy. They didn’t want our offense back on the field, so they were trying to milk the clock,” Matthews said. “We wanted to come in and put at least a few more points on the board, because anything can happen with a seven-point lead.”

Here’s what happened instead:

-- The Lions, trailing 17-10 in the third quarter, embarked on the kind of long, methodical drive coach Monte Coleman loves. It started at the UAPB 17-yard line. It covered 74 yards and lasted 14 plays. Thirteen of those plays were runs.

-- The Lions got to the SU 12, where they handed the ball to running back Dhabion Woodfin. He reached a pile of bodies at the 10 ... and lost the ball. Woodfin was stripped by freshman linebacker Lynnon Coleman, who was in the game because of injuries to other linebackers.

-- Defensive tackle Jordan Miller fell on the ball.

“Any time you run the ball that much, the chances go higher of you putting the ball on the ground,” Miller said. “We were aiming for the ball (because) that’s what the coaches told us the whole time: Aim for the ball, and they will put the ball on the ground. So he coughed it up.”

-- From there, Southern’s offense delivered the dagger.

“We said, ‘When we get the ball, we’ve got to go down the field and put it down their throat,’” Matthews said. “The defense got the stop, and that was the time for us to get it going.”