WALLER, Texas – Prairie View A&M fell behind early but a strong defensive effort spearheaded a 40-point swing as the Panthers claimed a 54-29 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on a cloudy afternoon at Waller ISD Stadium.
After forcing the Panthers to punt on their opening drive, UAPB converted three third downs on its opening drive with the final conversion a 5-yard touchdown reception by John Hawkins for the 7-0 lead after the PAT. The Panthers went three-and-out on their next drive and the Golden Lions struck big as Willie Young caught a 32-yard reception from Brandon Duncan on the opening play. Relying heavily on the run, UAPB rushed the ball six consecutive times and jumped out to a 14-0 lead after Dante McDonald's 1-yard scamper and the ensuing PAT.
Prairie View A&M finally found some rhythm on offense on its next drive as Johnta' Hebert and Courtney Brown had two big plays to move the ball. The Panthers would move to the UAPB 8 but had to settle for a field goal attempt. On the ensuing attempt, the Panthers executed a fake which featured tight end John Allen making an acrobatic catch off a Christian Rousseau pass for PVAMU's first points. The PAT was good as the Panthers trailed 14-7 with 11:33 left in the second stanza.
From there, the Panther defense rose to the occasion as a big sack forced a three-and-out but a costly fumble by Hebert on PVAMU's next drive led to a UAPB recovery and the ball on the PVAMU 7 after Trey Green's hustle play forced the runner out-of-bounds. Despite the setback, the defense held on and forced UAPB into a field goal which sailed wide right.
After receiving the gift from the defense, the Panthers held on to the ball this time with a balanced attack as DeMarquo LaStrappe outjumped his defender in the corner of the end zone for big touchdown to cap off a 10-play, 79-yard drive and a 14-14 tie entering halftime after the PAT by Owen Hoolihan.
The defense set the tone to open the second half as they held UAPB to a three-and-out and the offense responded as KhaDarel Hodge took over with catches of 27, 9 and 34 yards to set up a Green 1-yard touchdown run and the team's first lead (21-14) of the game after the PAT. DeVohn Reed sacked Duncan on third down to force another three-and-out and the Panthers continued to click on offense as Green hit three consecutive passes of 14, 10 and 13 yards to open the drive. Courtney Brown added a pair of big runs to help move the ball into the red zone as Green capped off the drive with a 5-yard pass to Hebert for a 27-14 lead with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
The Panther defense smothered UAPB as they suffered another three-and-out and the offense kept on churning as Green rushed for a 25-yard touchdown and a 34-14 lead as the PAT was blocked. On the next drive after another three-and-out, Nick Brewer blocked a UAPB punt which was recovered by Fred Anderson. Three plays later, Green found Hodge for a 10-yard touchdown reception and a 40-14 advantage. On the very next drive, redshirt freshman Cederic Porter capped the game off as his first career interception was returned for a 60-yard touchdown and a 47-14 lead.
After another punt by UAPB, the offense scored for the final time as De'Auntre Smiley rushed in from 4 yards out to cap off its 40-point swing as UAPB added a pair of late scores in the fourth quarter.
Green threw for 261 yards on 21-of-28 passing with three touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns as the offense finished with 473 total yards. Hodge caught six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown while Green and Brown led the Panthers with 46 rushing yards apiece. Marquice O'Leary broke up two passes and finished with a team-high eight tackles followed by six each from Arthur Lockett and Jalan Coleman.
The Panthers are back on the road next week as they'll travel to Lorman, Miss.to face Alcorn State at 2 p.m.
COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
No comments:
Post a Comment