PRAIRIE VIEW — During the Labor Day Classic luncheon last week, Prairie View athletic director Anton Goff joked that Texas Southern athletic director Kevin Granger’s car backseat had never experienced taking the rivalry trophy back to his campus.
Granger has been at the helm of the TSU athletic department for six years, and the Panthers had won the season-opening rivalry game between the two SWAC schools for nine straight years.
But it’s Granger who is laughing now after new coach Cris Dishman and Tigers put an end to the nine-year streak, defeating heavily favored Prairie View 27-9 on Saturday night at Panther Stadium.
The last time TSU had won a game in this series was a 37-35 decision at NRG Stadium in 2014.
“It feels great. Really excited about this,” Granger said to the Defender in the middle of Prairie View’s Blackshear Field. “A long time coming. I have to take my hat off to Prairie View. They’ve been doing an outstanding job over the course of time and these battles that we’ve had.
“But we knew we made the right hire and had a lot of confidence in Coach Dishman. And our student-athletes have been working so hard along with the coaching staff and administration. Everybody worked hard to bring this together.”
In a game that featured best friends and former Houston Oilers teammates Bubba McDowell and Dishman matching wits from opposing sidelines for the first time and two first-time starting quarterbacks in PV’s Lucas Coley and TSU’s KJ Cooper, the Tigers were just sharper all night.
“It feels real good,” Dishman said of starting off the season and his career 1-0 against the Tigers biggest rivals. “I know everybody is pointing the fingers at me, but I can’t take the credit. I have hell of a coaching staff, who did a hell of a job of getting these guys ready.
“We had a great session last night.”
Cooper, who beat out last years SWAC Newcomer of the Year Jace Wilson for the starting job, played with poise as he guided the Tigers to a 20-9 lead before getting injured in the fourth quarter.
Dishman kept his starting quarterback a secret until the first offensive possession when Cooper trotted onto the field with the first offense. He finished the night completing 19-of-30 passes for 126 yards and one interception.
“KJ is a gamer. He is a very good player,” Dishman said. “We brought him here to do what he did tonight.”
The Tigers won this game in three main areas. They dominated both offensive lines and probably even bigger is they penalty battle. Prairie View had drives stalled and extended drives for TSU because of penalties.
The Panthers were flagged nine times for minus-89 yards, while TSU was hit with just two penalties for minus-25 yards. The Tigers also didn’t have any turnovers.
Dishman has preached the importance of discipline and accountability since he arrived on campus in January and it all showed in the season opener.
“We knew it would be a different program because of Dishman,” Granger said. “I like what Coach Dishman has instilled in our student-athletes, the disciplinary measures that he has put in place. If you think about it, there has been a lot of close games between us and Prairie View. Last year, we were up by 17 at one point and they were able to come back and push the game into overtime.
“So we felt like if we stayed poised, we would have an opportunity to win this game.”
Defensively, the Tigers’ defense dominated Prairie View up front. They limited the Panthers to just 21 rushing yards and sacked Cameron Peters and Coley six times on the night.
Prairie View also never reached the end zone, having to settle for three field goals by Garcia Rodriguez.
“We just came out, we had a plan and we just executed the plan,” said TSU defensive lineman Keelan Cox. “We were firing on all cylinders on offense. We were driving the ball downfield, getting out on quick throws. The defense was making sure that we didn’t mess up on any blitzes.”
Dishman said the Tigers’ dominance in the trenches was a symptom of their having something to prove after they were picked to finish sixth in the SWAC West, while the reigning division champion Panthers were picked to finish second in this year’s preseason poll.
“I think our guys are tired of being disrespected. We were tired of getting disrespected,” said Dishman, whose team will travel within the city limits next week to take on Rice in a non-conference game. “They put us last … now granted it’s only one win. We have to capture next week and win.
“Coach McDowell said it’s not a rivalry until we win one. We just won one and the rivalry begins.”
After the game, McDowell and Dishman met in the field for an embrace. Dishman declined to say what was said. But Dishman admitted that standing across the field from McDowell, who has been a mentor, was surreal.
“We are both competitors. He wanted to win, I wanted to win,” Dishman said. “We kept telling each other all week that the team with less penalties will win the football game. And that’s what happened. We had less penalties.”
