The topic of the atmosphere between FAMU and Southern University in Saturday’s game in Baton Rouge has spilled over into the following week.
FAMU head coach Willie Simmons half-joked that it was ‘terrifying’ when the lights went out at A.W. Mumford in between the third and fourth quarters during Saturday’s rivalry game. Southern was flexing the capabilities of its newly installed LED lights, which led to a cinematic faceoff between the two teams as they prepared for the fourth quarter of a SWAC battle.
“Their guys were at the hash, our guys were at the hash…didn’t know what was going to happen,” Simmons recounted on Monday’s SWAC media call. “Was counting down the seconds until the lights came on so we could get some order.”
Southern University head coach Eric Dooley made it clear that he never anticipated anything worrisome would happen.
“I wasn’t worried because I knew you had two well-disciplined teams so I wasn’t worried about what was going to happen,” Dooley told local media. “I think they seized the moment to be in the lights. I think it made headlines everywhere else, but no one was worried about fighting. The fight is within 60 minutes, and it’s legal. So we’re not worried about going across to do anything.
We got our instructions. They know what to do. In the heat of the moment, they just were feeling it. Both teams. And they respected one another and didn’t get any closer.”
FAMU ultimately won the game 26-19.