Southern holds on to edge SC State 14-8 (Sep 03, 2017)

Published Sep. 7, 2017 5:37 p.m. ET

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Danny Johnson knocked down a pass at the goalline with 19 seconds left and Southern held on to defeat South Carolina State 14-8 in the season opener for both teams on Sunday.

It was the second time the Bulldogs were turned away late in the fourth quarter.

SC State reached the Southern 27 but fumbled a double-reverse on first down and Montavius Gaines recovered it on the 36 with 6:07 to go. The Jaguars ran the clock down to 1:59 before turning it over on downs at the Bulldog 25.

Dewann Ford hit Quan Caldwell for 23 yards on first down. On a second down, Ford found Jermaine Baxley wide open inside the 10 but Baxley dropped the ball. Caldwell hauled in a 27-yard pass on fourth down to put the ball at the 30 before an incompletion and two short passes set up the final play.

The only scoring in the second half was a safety on a blocked punt by SC State's Chad Gilchrist.

Devon Benn scored on a 27-yard run in the first quarter and Austin Howard went in from 6 yards in the second for Southern. Tyler Scandrett had a 37-yard field goal on the last play of the first quarter and a 35-yarder on the last play of the half.

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