by PERRYN KEYS; Advocate sportswriter; , The Advocate

This was the kind of moment they had waited for - all of them, including the longtime coach, the star quarterback, the array of playmakers, the entire Southern University football team.

On an afternoon when Bryant Lee broke the school's all-time passing record, the Jaguars overcame a gruesome start, stopped Alabama State on two key possessions inside the 5-yard line and pulled away for a 34-24 victory Saturday afternoon, thanks to a vintage performance from their high-powered offense.

And the star quarterback himself.

Lee threw for four touchdowns, ran for another and the Jaguars erupted for 490 yards of total offense, posting what might have been their most impressive effort of the season (their season high for total yards, 592, came against Division II Central State).

With a 22-yard throw to wide receiver Juamorris Stewart in the first quarter, Lee took over the top spot in the record books, supplanting Eric Randall, who threw for 7,286 yards from 1992-95.

"Coming into the game, everybody was telling me about it, and I just wanted to come out and play hard and get the win," Lee said. "It's great to be compared to (Randall). I still think he's the best quarterback who ever came through Southern. I told him my hat goes off to him, no matter what."

As for the entire offense, its breakout effort came just ahead of the biggest game of the season.

Southern (6-3, 3-2) has 13 days to prepare for the Bayou Classic. The Jaguars and Grambling - both out of the running for the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game - square off Nov. 28 in the Superdome.

"Anything can happen," SU coach Pete Richardson said. "We just have to be ready to play."

Lee completed 29 of 39 passes for 384 yards - easily a season high and just a hair off his personal single-game record of 407 yards, set last season in a home loss to Florida A&M.

It was quite a relief, the breaking of the record and the breakout game.

Heading into the weekend, the Jaguars offense - long known for piling up yards and points - had wobbled recently. SU, although still the highest-scoring team in the SWAC, managed just 14 points in a crushing loss to Prairie View and 24 points at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Before that, the Jaguars had even struggled to establish a straight-ahead running attack against Division II Fort Valley State (they blew that game open on misdirection plays in a 55-23 victory).

"I think the kids are just working hard and making great plays, and I think it was just a case of opening it up and going at them," offensive coordinator Mark Orlando said. "I just felt like they did a good job of executing. A lot of teams have been running spread on them. We went at them and made some plays, and that's what it was all about."

The offensive effort came against Alabama State (4-6, 1-6), which, if nothing else, excelled at keeping teams out of the end zone. The Hornets ranked second in the SWAC in scoring defense, allowing an average of 18.8 points per game.

It also helped the Southern defense stiffened after giving up handfuls of big plays. Twice the Jaguars stopped ASU inside the 5-yard line, forcing the Hornets to settle for field goals.

Still, with the way the game started, Lee - needing just 17 yards at kickoff - practically had to wonder if he'd set the record at all.

The Jaguars tiptoed through their first possession, and Lee air-mailed a throw on third down. Alabama State blocked SU's first punt attempt.

Then, on the Jaguars' first play of their next possession, Lee dropped back and threw across the middle - right where ASU linebacker Adrian Hardy was waiting. He picked it off, and the Hornets cashed in with a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

"We just weren't ready to play," Richardson said. "We wanted to win that game, especially for our seniors, because we wanted to have a winning season. That was one of our goals. But we just had to dig our way out."

Southern did just that, responding with back-to-back touchdown drives - the second of which covered 99 yards.

Leading by one point in the second quarter, the Jaguars struck again on a swift, efficient possession that ended with yet another special play from tight end Warren Matthews, who made a one-handed catch with his left hand in the end zone, giving them a 20-13 halftime lead.

SU later followed with two more scores in the third quarter, effectively putting the game away.

"I couldn't even say the last time we were clicking like this," said Matthews, who had two receiving touchdowns, a two-point conversion and added several crushing open-field blocks. "It's been a little minute. But this was fun."

And, to some degree, a long time coming.

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