LORMAN, Mississippi -- Arnold Walker carried the ball 26 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns to surpass Augustus Lee's 34-year old career rushing yards record in tonight's 50-35 victory over Prairie View A&M.The Braves didn't waste any time taking it to the Panthers in the opening seconds of the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback John Gibbs, Jr. connected with Zerick Rollins, Jr. for a 13-yard touchdown to give the Braves an early 7-0 lead.
Three drives later Prairie View drove 80 yards down the field which led to six-yard touchdown pass from Jake Lovelocke to Deandre Cooper to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:38 to play in the first quarter.
The Panthers took their first and only lead of the game 14-7 on a Johnta Hebert 18-yard rushing touchdown with less than two minutes into the second quarter.
After Prairie View's Chuck Obi's interception you would think the Panthers were about to run away with the game but the Braves had other plans.
The defense forced the Panthers to punt after the interception and earned great field position on a 42-yard punt return by senior Tavoris Doss. On the next play, Gibbs, Jr. found sophomore wide receiver LaDarrien Davis for a 23-yard strike to tie the game at 14-14 at the 10:25 mark.
Junior defensive back CJ Morgan intercepted a pass to setup the Braves next scoring drive. Walker snuck in from three yards out to retake the lead for the Braves 21-14 with 8:12 left in the second quarter.
Another forced punt allowed the Braves to set up another touchdown scoring drive. Anthony Williams III scored his only touchdown of the night on a one-yard run to increase the Braves lead to 27-14.
The Panthers gave the Braves the ball right back after another punt and the Braves took advantage of the opportunity to score again just before the half.
John Gibbs, Jr. scrambled 15 yards to the end zone for the Braves fourth touchdown of the second quarter to open their lead to 34-14. At the end of the second quarter the Braves had scored 27 unanswered points after being down 14-7 earlier in the quarter.
The Braves continued their dominance over the Panthers in the third quarter when Walker found the end zone for the second time on a two-yard touchdown which made the score 40-14.
Prairie View finally answered with a three-yard touchdown run by Courtney Brown. The touchdown stopped the Braves 34 consecutive points making the score 40-21 with 2:32 to go in the third quarter.
The Panthers weren't done yet after forcing the Braves to punt twice. Deandre Cooper reeled in his second touchdown of the night from backup quarterback DeAuntre Smiley for 28 yards to cut the Braves lead to 12, 40-28 with 10:44 left in the game.
Prairie View's defense forced another Braves punt and were back in business with 6:54 to play but the Braves defense wasn't about to let the Panthers back into the game.
Junior defensive tackle Deion Roberson recorded a sack and the next play junior William Thomas intercepted a pass and raced to the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown to extend the Braves lead to 47-28.
Freshman kicker Haiden McCraney scored the Braves final three points on a 32-yard field goal 3:29 to play.
The Panthers scored in the closing seconds of the game on 57-yard pass from Lovelocke to DeAndre Cooper for his third receiving touchdown of the night.
Gibbs, Jr. completed 24 of 43 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 79 yards on nine carries and one rushing touchdown. LaDarrien Davis caught a career-high six passes for 83 yards and one touchdown.
Alcorn State's defense accounted for five interceptions led by Devon Francois who intercepted two passes. Francois also recorded a single game career-high 12 tackles. Anthony Williams, Jr. racked up nine total tackles for the Braves.
Up next for the Braves (8-3, 5-2) is a trip to Jackson to face rival Jackson State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Box Score
COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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