Virginia Union Panthers Football Opens with Overtime Win

ICHMOND, Virgina -- It was a win 22 years in the making.

"I remember that game, said VUU Head Coach Dr. Alvin Parker.  "I played in that game (an 18-12 win over Fayetteville State University).  It was Homecoming."

Since then, Virginia Union had lost every overtime game it had played in since 1996. The Panthers ended those struggles as they got four touchdowns from former Hopewell standout Tabyus Taylor, including the game-winner, and defeated Seton Hill, 34-28, in their season opener Saturday at home.


Down by a touchdown with under four minutes to play, the Panthers portrayed resiliency that has been missing in previous seasons, as quarterback Darius Taylor found running back Tabyus Taylor for a 13-yard touchdown reception that tied the game at 28.

Virginia Union was impressive closing out the game. The Panthers were stout on defense in overtime, not even allowing a field goal attempt by the Griffins. Defensive back Tovias Parker came up with his second interception of the day, and he was one broken tackle away from taking it all the way to the end zone.

The Panthers answered on offense in just three plays, scoring on a 2-yard run by Tabyus Taylor to clinch the overtime victory.

"Our mental toughness is way better than it was last year," Parker said. "We are stronger as a team, and we feel like we know what it takes to get the job done."

The Panthers jumped out to a quick start, scoring on their first drive on a 69-yard connection from Darius Taylor to Olu Izegwire. The Griffons answered with a long-distance pass from John Makell IV to Ardell Brown, who finished the game with six catches for 164 yards and three TDs.

The game appeared to be in the early stages of a shootout as both teams easily scored on their following drives. However, after a promising start, the second quarter brought offensive struggles and mental mistakes for the Panthers. Tabyus Taylor scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run for the Panthers with 2 minutes remaining in the half, but those were the last points they scored until Taylor's tying TD with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter.

"Anytime you're dealing with 18- or 19-year-olds, you're going to have ups and downs," first-year Union coach Alvin Parker said. "We played well, but we had a few careless penalties that I wasn't really happy with."

Virginia Union totaled five penalties for 56 yards compared to Seton Hill's two for 12 yards. A costly unnecessary-roughness penalty in the second quarter put Seton Hill in scoring position inside the 5-yard line. A pair of offensive holding penalties deflated drives. Darius Taylor was called for intentional grounding inside of the 15-yard line, resulting in a safety.

Despite the mistakes, Tabyus Taylor remained a constant for the Panthers. The junior running back finished with 176 rushing yards on 25 carries.

"Only thing going through my mind out there was to score," Taylor said. "Coach told me I'd get a lot of reps, and it would be up to me what I did with them. The sky is the limit this season."

BOX SCORE

Coach Parker is optimistic about the direction of the Panthers.

"If we can eliminate some of the penalties and errors, we are going to put ourselves in position to be a very good ballclub this season."

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