(Right Center – Right) Prairie View A&M University Homecoming Queen Breanna Green and King Aaron Fowler
DALLAS – Over the past week, Prairie View A&M head coach Heishma Northern often joked about investing in blood pressure stock based on the late game antics of his football team. Northern can hold off on investing this week as a 21-point, third quarter surge broke open a tight game as the Panthers claimed a 31-3 win over Grambling State in the annual State Fair Classic inside the Cotton Bowl on a cold and rainy evening.
The Panther defense struck first on the game’s opening play as Chuck Obi forced and recovered a fumble en route to an 18-yard return to the GSU 22. However, the Panthers failed to take advantge of the field position and had to settle for a 23-yard field from Chris Barrick for the early 3-0 lead with 12:53 remaining.
On PV’s second drive of the night, the Panthers put together a methodical 18-play, 85-yard drive which was capped off by Jerry Lovelocke‘s 12-yard touchdown pass to Courtney Brown. Barrick’s PAT was good as the team led 10-0 early in the first quarter.
After another GSU punt, the Panthers were marching once again on offense but came up short as Lovelocke fumbled at the GSU 30. Grambling State found its offense rhythm marched deep into PV territory before settling on a 33-yard field goal from Johnathan Wallace for the 10-3 deficit with 14:40 left in the second quarter.
PV once again drove downfield but saw a promising drive fall short as they turned the ball over on downs at the GSU 19. From that point, both team’s defensive units took center stage as they traded punts followed by a fourth-down stop from the Panthers at the PV 29. PV punted on the ensuing possession and GSU threatened to tie the game at the end of the half as they drove to the PV 3 in eight plays. The Panthers defense refused to budge though as GSU failed to gain any yards and misfired on its field goal attempt en route to a 10-3 PV lead at the half.
Both teams went three-and-out to open the second half before PV regained its offensive identity as the running game came alive on the second drive of the half to move the team into scoring position. The Panthers had a temporary setback on the GSU 12 with a holding call but the lost field position didn’t matter as Lovelocke executed a beautiful pump fake and found Deandre Cooper for a 23-yard touchdown pass for a 17-3 lead after Barrick’s PAT.
The Panther defense joined the party on the next drive as redshirt freshman linebacker Jamespaul Bryant picked up a fumbled ball on a GSU lateral and raced 64 yards untouched for his first career touchdown with 9:25 remaining. Redshirt freshman Foster Brown II picked off GSU quarterback DJ Williams on the next possession and set up a five-play, 15-yard drive which ended with Lovelocke sneaking in from the 1 for his fourth rushing touchdown in a two-week span. Barrick nailed the PAT as the Panthers capped off a four-minute, 21-point span for a 31-3 advantage.
An approaching band of inclement weather threatened to halt the game but the teams continued to play on as the fourth quarter began. With the game in hand, the Panthers did the best they could do in running out the clock while the defense kept GSU in check en route to a 28-point win which marked the largest margin of victory over the Tigers since a 44-6 win in 1958. In addiiton to the margin, PV holds a three-game winning streak over GSU which is its longest since a four-game span from 1950-53.
PV finished with 327 offensive yards as Lovelocke passed for 246 yards on 27-of-40 passing and two touchdowns. Senior wideout Deandre Cooper posted his second straight career performance as he caught 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Jerome Howard led all PV defenders with nine tackles followed by seven tackles from Obi and Brown. Brown also broke up and intercepted a pass while Obi had a tackle for loss, forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
The Panthers remain on the road next weekend as they’ll face Alabama State in a huge cross divisional battle in Montgomery, Ala. at 1 p.m. inside the New ASU stadium