GEORGETOWN, TEXAS - Southwestern football put on a show for the fans on Saturday at Birkelbach Field, defeating Birmingham-Southern College Panthers 43-20 getting their first win of the season on Southwestern homecoming weekend.
Freshman Quarterback Jaylen Spriggs made his first collegiate start for the Pirates and made the most of it right off the bat, going 75 yards in a 4:38 to put Southwestern up 7-0 at the start of the game. The Panthers answered right back, with an 82 yard touchdown on the first play of the drive. The Pirates would maintain the lead however after Jason Lund blocked the PAT which was recovered by the Pirates.
Miscues from the Panthers spelled disasters for Birmingham-Southern and the Pirates made good on each of the Panther's shortcomings. The Pirates would score four more times in the half including a safety from Pirate stand-out linebacker Blane Corekin. Southwestern went into halftime up 26-6 and all the momentum in their favor.
The Panthers showed life at the end of the second quarter with an 82-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 13-26, but that was all they would see until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
A Charlie Fournier field goal put the Pirates up 29-13 after a long sustaining six-minute drive in the third quarter. Spriggs would be out with an injury in the fourth quarter, but senior quarterback Damian Gomez stepped right back in and scored two rushing touchdowns in the final quarter to put a cap on a stellar Southwestern performance.
Freshman running back Devan Phillips was a mainstay in the rushing attack for the Pirates, going for 26 carries and 132 yards thanks to great play from his offensive line. Spriggs rushed for 73 yards helping the Pirates to 311 yards rushing on the day. A host of Pirates had over 30 yards receiving for a total of 152 pass yards. On the defensive end, freshman defensive back Cam Roberson snagged three interceptions while Ja'Marcus Ross notched four tackles.
Southwestern outscored the Panthers in every quarter except the second on their way to their first SAA victory in program history.
The Pirates will make the trip to Rhodes College next Saturday to battle the Lynx at 2:00 PM CDT.