Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM -- With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Southern led Fayetteville Douglas Byrd 20-0.
Yet by the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Spartans found themselves trailing by a point.
Southern showed its resolve, however, driving 51 yards in 11 plays to retake the lead on a 1-yard run by Jamal Bullock with 3:20 left in the game. The Spartans lined up to kick the extra point, but A.J. Marshall ran the fake to the end zone untouched for the two-point conversion to seal a 28-21 victory in what seemed like a playoff atmosphere at Southern.
"Our motto is if something good happens, keep playing. And if something bad happens, keep playing," Southern coach Adrian Jones said. "My guys did that tonight and went out there knowing they were going to take the ball down the field and score."
It took just 67 seconds for the Spartans (3-1) to record the game's first big play, as well as the game's first points. Desmond Lawrence, who carried four times for 91 yards, took a handoff over the left edge and cut back across the field for a 67-yard touchdown, giving the Spartans an early 7-0 lead.
Southern's next big play came in the passing game when senior quarterback Alan Lea went deep down the sideline to Quentin Lloyd for a 45-yard strike and a 14-0 lead with 3:53 left in the first quarter. Lea finished the contest 11-of-17 for 146 yards.
Byrd's first major threat came in the second quarter when the Eagles (2-2) drove the ball inside Southern's 5-yard line. The Spartans' defense came up with the big play this time, stopping Byrd on fourth-and-1.
Lea and the Spartans made Byrd pay for fumbling a punt late in the half, passing to Kwindarius Sapp over the middle for a 20-yard touchdown with just 26 seconds left in the half.
The half wasn't over, however, and the Spartans' lead wasn't safe.
After a long kickoff return and a pair of Southern penalties put the Eagles within striking distance, Byrd quarterback Brendell Davis heaved a Hail Mary into the end zone on the final play of the half, finding J.R. Britton for a 24-yard touchdown to cut Southern's lead to 20-7.
The Eagles picked up where they left off in the first half, cutting Southern's lead to 20-13 and seizing the momentum on an 80-yard drive mired by multiple personal foul and procedure penalties. Williams plunged the ball in from the 1 for the scoring play.
"We still have to get better," Jones said. "We are making too many mistakes and shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties. If the defense had played a little better and we wouldn't have made some many penalties, we would have beaten them more convincingly."
The Eagles took the lead with a 13-play, 99-yard drive capped by a 12-yard run by Rasheem Bronson, who led Byrd with 180 yards on 25 carries. A two-point conversion run by Bronson gave Byrd a 21-20 lead with 8:06 left. Williams picked up a fourth down conversion with a 23-yard pass to Britton to keep the drive alive.
"He is a great running back," Jones said of Bronson. "We didn't know he was that good, but he is a heck of a back. Hey, he played his heart out. I told him to not hang his head because they are going to be a good team this year."
Southern 28, Douglas Byrd 21
Fayetteville Byrd 0 7 6 8--21
Southern 14 6 0 8--28
SCORING SUMMARY
S--Lawrence 67 rush (Martinez kick), 11:03.
S--Lloyd 45 pass from Lea (Martinez kick), 3:53.
S--Sapp 20 pass from Lea (kick failed), 0:30.
B--Britton 24 pass from Davis (Williams kick), 0:00.
B--Williams 1 run (kick failed), 6:09.
B--Bronson 12 rush (Bronson run), 8:06.
S--Bullock 1 rush (Marshall run), 3:20.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Byrd, Bronson 25-180, Williams 12-20, Pooler 8-36, Underwood 1-9, Taylor 1-4, Whitfield 2-1; Southern, Lawrence 5-91, Hedgepeth 7-34, Creecy 5-20, Bullock 7-7. PASSING--Byrd, Williams 2-6-28-1, Davis 3-3-36-0; Southern, Lea 11-17-146-0.
RECEIVING--Byrd, Britton 5-87; Southern, Lloyd 2-58, Sapp 4-44, Creecy 2-21, Everett 1-16, Amey 1-6, Lawrence 1-1.
Records--Byrd 2-2, Southern 3-1.
