Howard Rallies to Defeat Southern in Thriller, 27-24

Jason Decuir kicked the tie-breaking field goal and Curtis Jones made a game-saving interception at the goal line with 42 seconds remaining Tuesday to give Howard a 27-24 Heritage Bowl victory over Southern.

Howard trailed, 24-10, at halftime. But the Bison defense held Southern scoreless in the final half as Howard (9-2) capped its best season since 1993.

Southern (7-4) lost its first Heritage Bowl in three trips.

Decuir’s tie-breaking, 18-yard field goal snapped a 24-24 tie with 3:04 left to play. Howard had advanced to a first down at the two but failed to score a touchdown.

Southern then drove into scoring position on a halfback pass from Jermaine Brown to quarterback Marcus Jacoby, giving the Jaguars the ball on the Howard 25. But Jones’ interception killed the threat.

Howard tied the score, 24-24, early in the fourth quarter when MacArthur Johnson scored on an 81-yard pass play from quarterback Ted White, who completed 23 of 39 passes for 328 yards.