Sophomore Tim Lewis returned a Karsten Miller pass 71 yards for a touchdown with 10:25 left in the game as the Southwest Bears started the Tucker Peavey era off on a high note with a 19-15 road win over the Northwest Mississippi Rangers at Senatobia Thursday night. The win was the Bears' first since a 28-14 victory over Northwest in 2011.
"It was a long time coming," Lewis said of the win. "When the ball was in the air, I just had to make a play. The minute I picked it off, I didn't have anything on my mind (but touchdown)."
The Bears seemed destined to continue their winless streak as the Rangers jumped out to a 15-0 lead. Miller tossed a 20-yard scoring pass to D'Montrise Swinney with 11:34 to play in the initial quarter and Matt Bratton booted the extra point to make the score 7-0.The play was set up by Joshua Barry's interception of a Jamil Golden pass. On the ensuing kickoff, Ladarrius Slocum fielded the ball at the two-yard line and inadvertently kneeled in the end zone for a safety to make the score 9-0 after the first 15:00 of play.
The Rangers scored their final points in the second quarter when Miller connected with Swinney on a 30-yard touchdown strike to close out a 10-play, 84-yard march. Bratton's kick was wide left, leaving Northwest with a 15-0 advantage.
Southwest finally got on the board with 2:27 left in the half. Taking over at their own 48-yard line following a Northwest punt, the Bears needed eight plays to reach paydirt. Chris Jones did the honors on a 14-yard run. Michal McDaniel added the PAT to make the score 15-7 at the half.
Chris Jones rushed for 33 yards and caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Golden as the Bears took the opening drive of the second half and closed the gap to 15-13 with 10:57 on the clock. A two-point conversion attempt was no good. That proved to be the only points of the third quarter as Northwest held the ball for 18 plays and 81 yards, but were unable to produce more than an unsuccessful field goal attempt.
Following Lewis' interception in the final stanza, it became nail-biting time for the Bears and their fans. Taking possession of the ball at their own eight-yard line, the Rangers methodically marched down the field to a first and goal at the Southwest five-yard line, then, after a holding penalty, at the one-yard line. But, four straight Miller passes fell unsuccessfully to the ground and the Bears came away with the win.
"I think in this league, you can't expect any win to be easy," said Peavey. "The only thing that disappointed me was we made some mental mistakes offensively early, and even down the stretch, but we've got to correct that."
"I thought defensively, we played with great intensity," Peavey continued, "and the offense did (too) minus those mental mistakes. Overall, the team effort was there and the attitude was right. They (the Bears) kept fighting to the end. Obviously, on the road, they had chances to give up and didn't and that's what saved us in the end."
Jones led the way for the Bears on offense, rushing the ball 20 times for 114 yards (5.7 per carry). Golden carried the ball seven times for 34 yards. Justin Blue and Bodarius Johnson also toted the ball.
Golden completed 10 of 18 passes for 89 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Kelvin Williams hauled in four passes for 36 yards while Blue had two catches for 28 yards and Jones two catches for 24 yards. Jones also caught a touchdown pass. Dylan Knott and Johnson had one catch apiece.
Sophomore C. J. O'Quin topped the Bears' defense in tackles with 10. Dominique Lavalais and Steven Joiner both had nine tackles while Maurice Magee had eight and Nicholas McDonald and Guy Stallworth both had seven. Lewis had an interception return for a touchdown while Jarvis Wallace had a sack. Taylor Smith punted the ball four times for an average of 34.2 yards.
Damian Baker carried the ball 27 times for 143 yards to pace the Rangers' offense. Miller completed 17 of 30 passes for 193 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Bratton averaged 32 yards on four punts.
Following the annual tailgate party, beginning at 5:00 in "the grove" next to Kenna Hall on the Southwest campus, the Bears make their home debut on September 5 by hosting the Itawamba Indians. Kickoff is set for 7:00 at John I. Hurst Stadium. Itawamba is coming off a 40-7 win over East Central.
"Next week's just another game," Peavey said, "it really doesn't matter who you're playing. I think every week is going to be a big challenge. When you come off a win, the attitude's a little better. We should see some big improvements (from last night)."
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