Griffin’s 34-yard field goal help Southern beat Texas Southern 22-19 in OT

HOUSTON (AP) — Noah Bodden threw an 16-yard touchdown pass to Quay Davis in the closing seconds of regulation and Joshua Griffin kicked a 34-yard field goal in overtime to help Southern rally and beat Texas Southern 22-19 Saturday night.

MJ Hinson Jr. returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring in the second quarter and Trenton Leary ran for a 28-yard touchdown that gave Texas Southern (2-4, 1-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) a 14-0 lead at halftime.

Griffin made a 26-yard field goal about 2 1/2 minutes into the second half and added a 40-yarder with 6:27 left in the third quarter before Kendric Rhymes capped a 13-play, 73-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run that made it 14-12 going into the fourth.

Christian Avelar kicked a 39-yard field goal with about 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter and Damarcus Thompson forced Bodden into a intentional grounding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety that gave the Tigers a 19-12 lead with 1:26 left. Southern (3-3, 2-0) forced a three-and-out on the Tigers’ ensuing possession and a muffed punt gave the Jaguars possession at the TSU 16. On the next play from scrimmage, Bodden hit Davis for a TD with 18 seconds left to eventually force overtime.

Avelar missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt on the first possession of overtime and Griffin’s 34-yarder won it.

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