Howard leads Southern past Alabama State 28-21

Published Nov. 1, 2014 10:47 p.m. ET

foxsports

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Austin Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead Southern to a 28-21 victory over Alabama State on Saturday night.

Howard's 9-yard touchdown run gave the Jaguars the lead for good with 9:20 remaining. The Hornets couldn't answer when three fourth quarter drives stalled in their own territory.

Howard threw an 18-yard TD pass to Willie Quinn, and connected with Reggie Travis for a 23-yard score as Southern took an 18-14 lead with 9:29 to play in the third quarter. Greg Pittman kicked his third, 40-yard field goal to stretch Southern's lead to seven.

Alabama State (4-5, 3-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference) tied it at 21 early in the fourth quarter when Daniel Duhart connected with Wyndell Archie on a 31-yard touchdown pass.

Southern (6-3, 5-1) has won four straight, but couldn't gain ground on West Division leader Grambling State, which beat Texas Southern on Saturday night.