MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Ladarius Skelton passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Chase Foster scored on a 14-yard interception return and Southern held on to beat Alabama State 24-21 in the opener for both teams in a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
On a play-action pass, Skelton hit a wide-open Gregory Perkins who raced 40 more yards for a 59-yard score to make it 21-all on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Alabama State then went three-and-out and Cesar Barajas made a 41-yard field goal to cap the scoring with 12:29 to play.
The Hornets missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt with four seconds left.
Ryan Nettles was 16-of-27 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns the Hornets. He threw one interception and was sacked six times.