PVAMU Panthers Claim 52-19 Win Over MVSU

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ITTA BENA, Mississippi – Prairie View A&M quickly took the fun out of Mississippi Valley State's homecoming as they dominated from start to finish in a 52-19 road win at Rice-Totten Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Junior running back Johnta Hebert wasted no time in setting the tone as he opened the game with a 95-yard kickoff return after fielding a squib kick by MVSU. The PAT was good as the Panthers claimed an early 7-0 lead. The lead improved to 13-0 at the close of the quarter as placekicker Chris Barrick nailed a pair of field goals ranking from 32 and 20 yards.

Early in the second quarter, defensive back Terence Reynolds intercepted a MVSU pass and two plays into the ensuing drive, senior quarterback Jerry Lovelocke found a streaking Greg Thurmond for a 26-yard touchdown reception and a 20-0 lead after the PAT.

On the next possession, the Panther defense came up big once again as senior linebacker Danny Brownell forced a fumble which landed into the hands of defensive end Ahkeem Barton. The offense had to punt but the defense came up huge on the next drive as Brownell forced his second consecutive fumble which led to a Damond Jackson recovery.

After the recovery, the offense kept on clicking as Lovelocke and wideout Nick Pitre hit a on a 26-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch for a 27-0 lead.

The defense forced a punt on the next drive and Hebert broke free on the first play late in the second quarter for a 77-yard touchdown run. Barrick's PAT was good as the Panthers claimed a 35-0 lead. Another defensive three-and-out by the PVAMU defense led to Barrick's third field goal of the half as the Panthers finished the half ahead 38-0.

After an impressive first half, the Panthers came out the locker room fired up as Lovelocke connected with Greg Thurmond for an 83-yard scoring strike at the 9:56 mark. Several minutes later, Thurmond made an acrobatic 44-yard catch off a Trey Green pass to move the Panthers into scoring position once again. Three plays later, Jovante Ham moved the Panthers ahead 52-0 with a 2-yard rush up the middle.

Mississippi Valley State made a late charge in the fourth quarter as quarterback Patrick Ivy connected with wideout Julian Stafford for a pair of touchdown receptions coupled with a 1-yard rush from Ivy slightly before the six-minute mark.

PVAMU finished with 465 total yards as Hebert rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Lovelocke passed for 207 yards and three touchdowns on 12-of-21 passing while Thurmond caught three passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Jerome Howard finished with 10 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss.

The Panthers return home next weekend for their final contest at Blackshear Field as they'll battle Alcorn State at 1 p.m. Next Saturday's game will have a plethora of activities as the annual Sports Hall of Fame class will be introduced in addition to a pregame ceremony honoring 23 seniors and the postgame Blackshear Field celebration.


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