For nearly 45 minutes, the Berry Vikings kept the No. 22-ranked team in the nation in check.

                But the upset the football team was shooting for never materialized as the visiting Birmingham-Southern Panthers fought off the challenges by the Vikings to hand Berry a 21-3 Southern Athletic Association loss on a dreary Saturday afternoon at Valhalla.

                The setback officially brought to an end to Berry's run of five straight SAA titles and gives the Vikings a 5-3 overall record and a 3-2 SAA mark heading into next week's conference road game in Memphis, Tenn., against Rhodes.

                The unbeaten Panthers (8-0, 5-0) will now turn their attention to a showdown in Birmingham, Ala., next week when they host No. 19 Trinity for an SAA battle between unbeaten that for all practical purposes will decide who wins this season's conference title.

                On Saturday, the Vikings opened the game keeping BSC in check as the Panthers missed two opportunities to take the lead, missing a 38-yard field goal attempt early in the opening quarter, then saw a 41-yard FG try blocked by Berry's Brock Skinner early in the second period.
 
                The Vikings made the most of the block as on the ensuing series Berry marched down to the BSC 11 where Matthew Syverson connected with a 28-yard field goal to give his team a 3-0 lead with 9:21 left in the first half.
 
                Southern, however, found its offensive groove in the final minutes of the half, putting together an 8-play, 93-yard drive that was capped by a 57-yard touchdown run by Panther All-American running back Robert Shufford with 1:47 to go until intermission and Zach Ford's PAT conversion gave BSC the 7-3 halftime lead.
 
                That score stood until late in the third quarter when the Panthers delivered a blow to Berry's upset plans when BSC defensive back Brandon Rew intercepted a pass by Gavin Gray and returned it 28 yards for the pick-six to extend Southern's lead to 14-3.
 
                Shufford, who ended the day leading all rushers gaining 213 yards on 27 carries, gave his team insurance points midway through the final quarter when he scored on a 10-yard run to close out a 47-yard drive.
 
                Of the Panthers 397 yards, 276 of those came on the ground.
 
                Berry, which entered the game finding success on the ground during its three-game win streak, was held to just 71 rushing yards. Josh Rogers led the Vikings with 44 yards on 12 carries, while Brandon Cade added 33 yards on nine rushes.
 
                Gray completed 13 of 31 passes and one interception for 168 yards, with Deiondre Wilson leading the team with seven receptions for 121 yards as the Vikings finished with 239 total yards.
 
                Elohim Hull led the Vikings defense with 7.5 total tackles and Jack Seeger added seven tackles and 2.5 sacks. All told, Berry totaled season-high five sacks.
 
                After their final road game of the season next week at Rhodes, the Vikings close out the regular season on Nov. 13 when they host SAA foe Centre.