NEW ORLEANS (AP) -Greg Dillon accounted for 287 yards and two touchdowns, and Grambling State clinched a spot in the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game with a 29-14 victory over Southern in Saturday’s Bayou Classic.
Dillon was 9-of-13 for 151 yards, including an 11-yard scoring strike to Nick Lewis. Dillon also rushed for 136 yards on 26 carries, including his 14-yard score. His performance helped second-year coach Rod Broadway win his first Bayou Classic and his second SWAC West Division title.
If Southern had won, it would have forced a three-way tie between Grambling, Southern and Prairie View atop the SWAC West Division. A coin flip was tentatively scheduled Sunday to help decide the division winner in the case of a three-way tie, but Grambling negated the need for it by winning the division outright and will meet Jackson State in Birmingham on Dec. 13.
he Jaguars were clinging to a 14-12 lead.
Warren Matthews relieved Lee but struggled on his first several series, throwing an interception that Keefe Hall returned 30 yards to the Southern 8. That set up Cornelius Walker’s 4-yard touchdown run that gave Grambling (10-2, 7-0 SWAC) a 22-14 lead with 12:44 to go.
Matthews drove the Jaguars (6-5, 5-2) to the Grambling 16 on Southern’s next drive, but then was intercepted by T.J. McCord at the 3. Grambling’s Frank Warren added a 31-yard touchdown with 1:13 left to seal the win.
Matthews was 8-of-15 for 96 yards and three interceptions.
Lee threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Juamorris Stewart and Alvin Fosselman scored on a 1-yard run to give Southern a 14-0 lead. Leading 14-6, Southern was close to scoring again when Lee found Stewart over the middle for a 40-yard gain, but Stewart, who was in the clear, lost control of the ball and stumbled without being hit and Grambling recovered at the 12.
It was a rare misstep for Stewart, who finished with nine catches for 174 yards.
Grambling’s Luis Leal kicked a 25-yard field goal, giving the Tigers a 15-14 lead they would not relinquish early in the third quarter.
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