Southern’s Dillon runs all over UAPB
PINE BLUFF — Kobe Dillon stood behind his quarterback, nearly 8 yards back of the line of scrimmage. The freshman took the opening handoff of the second half, eyed a gap between the center and right guard and within a matter of seconds, Dillon was in the end zone.
The 75-yard touchdown was the highlight of an afternoon in which Dillon set new Southern and Southwestern Athletic Conference records, running for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries as the visiting Jaguars torched the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 34-7, on Saturday afternoon at Simmons Bank Field.
The Golden Lions avoided a shutout with a late score, yet managed 207 yards of total offense and committed five turnovers in their fifth consecutive defeat.
“We felt like we still had a chance coming in at halftime,” UAPB Coach Doc Gamble said as the Golden Lions trailed 21-0 at halftime. “What deflated us was starting the [second] half on defense and giving up that big run. That kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
Dillon didn’t wait until the third quarter to get his big day going. Golden Lions quarterback Skyler Perry threw an interception on the third play from scrimmage, setting Southern (3-3, 2-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) up with a short field.
Two snaps later, following a false start and an incompletion, Dillon got outside and broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown to put the Jaguars up 7-0.
Following five empty series between the two, Dillon found the end zone once more, ripping off a 45-yarder to double the Southern advantage.
For Dillon, a converted quarterback out of Ferriday, La., it wasn’t a given he’d be the Jaguars’ starting tailback Saturday. Starter Devon Benn was a game-time decision, per Coach Jason Rollins, and though Dillon had taken first-team reps during the week, he only learned he’d be the lead man shortly before kickoff.
“That’s just who we are. It’s in our DNA to run the football,” Rollins said. “We just try to find a way to run the football against everyone we play, so it wasn’t anything particular that [UAPB wasn’t] doing.”
There were momentary spells in which UAPB (1-5, 0-4) looked like it could gain some footing. The Golden Lions’ defense was relatively steady outside of Dillon’s three significant carries — combined, those runs accounted for more than 40% of Southern’s total offense.
UAPB’s success was fleeting, however, as mistakes prevented the Golden Lions from having any shot at a comeback. UAPB fumbled the kickoff following Dillon’s second score, setting the Jaguars up with an extremely short field.
And Southern capitalized, needing less than a minute and a half for Pine Bluff native Ladarius Skelton to connect with Jamar Washington for an 11-yard touchdown pass.
“At the end of the day, we can’t turn the ball over the way we did and expect to beat anybody,” Gamble said.
Redshirt freshman Xzavier Vaughn replaced Perry and scored late on a 13-yard scamper while finishing 11of-20 passing for 87 yards. Gamble said he wanted to ride the hot hand and didn’t give any indication which of his two quarterbacks would get the starting nod against the University of Arkansas on Saturday in Little Rock.
“It’s just about keeping our spirits high and executing,” Perry said of the Golden Lions have success over the final five games. “That’s what we haven’t been doing, and that’s been the reason we’re losing. Sometimes, you just have to look in the mirror and figure out what you’re doing individually. As long as everybody can dig deep … we [can] come back and finish our season strong.”