Contenders for the Southwestern Athletic Conference title, such as Alabama State and Prairie View, have dropped back‑to‑back conference games.

Jackson State refused to suffer the same fate during its homecoming in a 27-17 victory over Florida A&M. Last week, the Tigers fell to Grambling State 45-38 on the road.

Jackson State came back from a 17-12 deficit to open the fourth quarter, taking the lead with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jared Lockhart to Jabari Jones with 12:21 remaining. Jackson State (6-1, 3-1) converted on its two-point conversion with Lockhart’s rush to give his team a 20-17 advantage after a seven-play, 58-yard drive.

Coach T.C. Taylor’s defense was as disruptive as it has been all season, recording five takeaways — three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Defensive back B.J. Washington, a fifth-year player, had two interceptions.

“Been waiting all year to see that,” Taylor said on the SWAC coaches call on Monday. “This is the right time of the year for it all to be coming together.”

Jackson State’s top quarterback, Lockhart, didn’t start the game after getting injured last week in the team’s 45-38 loss to Grambling (4-3, 2-2). Taylor said the team used senior quarterback Caron Tyler first since he practiced the most.

“He took a bulk of the reps throughout the week, so we wanted to be fair to him as a young man,” Taylor said. “But Jared was able to go, and we just needed a spark at that time. And he did a good job of coming there. He really gave a warrior's effort.”

Bethune Cookman star shines

Bethune-Cookman saw one of its defensive stars play as good a game as anyone has in the SWAC.

Redshirt junior safety Jaden Davis was named the FCS National Defensive Player of the Week after an incredible performance in his team’s 34-14 win over Mississippi Valley State (3-5, 2-2).

Davis had a SWAC season-high three interceptions, nine tackles (six solo), a sack and a fumble returned 61 yards for a touchdown with 50 seconds remaining.

“Jaden Davis scooped and scored, and ended up finishing the game,” coach Raymond Woodie said. “It was a big win for us, you know, going down there in a hostile environment. It was on their homecoming, and you know I'm proud of the guys, the way they fought.

Davis, a Tampa, Florida native, has four interceptions on the season after getting his first pick in the opener against Central Florida. He didn’t have an interception in any game before this season.

Davis, unsurprisingly, leads the SWAC in interceptions and is tied for third in the FCS.

Bethune-Cookman (4-3, 2-1) leads the conference with 11 interceptions, which is three more than it had all of last season. The most interceptions by a player in the SWAC last year was five, and for a team the mark was 15 by Alabama State.

Alabama A&M thriving

Sam Shade continues to have one of the most impressive coaching seasons in HBCU football.

Alabama A&M (6-2, 3-1) dominated Grambling 61-31 at home, erasing a 14-point deficit in the second quarter. The Bulldogs also recovered after throwing an interception to start the contest.

They scored 44 unanswered points, 35 in the third quarter, thanks to the sound play of quarterback Cornelious Brown. The 6-foot-5 graduate student threw for 417 yards, completing 57.8% of his passes, five touchdowns and ran for 37 yards and a touchdown.

“We felt like we had to score a lot of points in order to (win) that because they were a very capable offense, really good, high-powered offense, running and passing,” Shade said.

Brown’s favorite target was 6-4 junior wide receiver Jaylan Bean. The Wyoming transfer had 10 catches for 240 yards and four touchdowns, including two for over 60 yards. Bean’s eight total receiving touchdowns are fourth in the FCS and tied for first in the SWAC with his teammate Jarel Williams.

Shade, a second-year coach, said Bean came to the program with a shoulder injury and missed practically the entire offseason.

“He was really behind as far as the learning curve,” Shade said. “Behind getting to work with Quad Brown, you know, just trying to build that chemistry and all that stuff. So my hat goes off to him, man, because he's worked really hard to get himself where he is now.”

This was a quality win over a Grambling team that is the No. 7 team in this week’s BOXTOROW HBCU football media poll.