BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Southern and Florida A&M have battled over 60 times in their storied rivalry. Yet something happened during their last meeting this past Saturday that’s never been done before.
Between the third and fourth quarter, Southern used their brand new LED stadium lights for a light show. The Jags have done this during their first two home games as well.
However, with the tensions high between Jaguars and Rattlers, members of both teams walked out to the hashmarks to trash talk to the tune of the Human Jukebox.
FAMU head coach Willie Simmons told reporters yesterday the moment was “terrifying” and he was “counting down the seconds until the lights came on” while officials calmed the storm at midfield.
Southern head coach Eric Dooley responded candidly to our Geaux Nation team’s questions today about the incident.
“I wasn’t worried because I knew you had two well-disciplined teams, so I wasn’t worried was going to happen. I think they seized the moment to be in the lights,” said Dooley.
The stakes of the game were large, considering the implications it had on who could potentially host a SWAC Championship game later this season. Still, the players kept their distance and easily avoided any physical contact.
“No one was worried about fighting. The fight is within 60 minutes and is legal,” Dooley said.
There is an opportunity for these two teams to meet later in the season in the title game, but it would most likely be at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee. If the Rattlers win the rest of the games on their SWAC schedule, they will host.
Southern is currently tied with three other squads in the SWAC West at 2-1 in conference play. Yet, if the Jags win the rest of their games, they will boast a better SWAC record and end up in the championship game.
