HBCU football: Pine Bluff stifles Prairie View on ESPN

Courtesy of UAPB Athletics

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas – Led by a dominant defensive effort that kept the Prairie View A&M offense to 97 rushing yards, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) knocked off the Panthers 21-17 at home Friday night at Simmons Bank Field in an HBCU football game on a national stage (ESPN 2).

The Golden Lions improved to 2-4 on the year and (1-1 SWAC) in Southwestern Athletic Conference play, while the Panthers fell to 2-5 and (1-3 SWAC).

Mekhi Hagens led UAPB’s passing attack with 250 yards through the air, tossing one touchdown without throwing an interception.

Bj Curry paced the Golden Lions rushing attack by accumulating 46 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the game. Za’Marion Webber also added 44 yards on the ground, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.

JaVonnie Gibson reeled in nine catches for 183 yards and one score, for his fifth 140 plus receiving yards game. Kristian Gammage got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in four balls for 60 yards in the ESPN 2 contest.

Liam Lindo paced the UAPB defensive effort, collecting four tackles and one interception. Team added and Tayvon Hardwick had three tackles and 0.5 TFL in the win.

The Golden Lions won the turnover battle in Friday’s game, forcing one turnover while avoiding any giveways.

UAPB’s defense was tough against the run, limiting Prairie View A&M to just 97 yards on the ground. UAPB out-rushed Prairie View A&M by 18 yards.

How It Happened

UAPB responded to an early 8-0 Prairie View A&M advantage with a first quarter touchdown to narrow the deficit to 8-7.The Golden Lions then took the lead on an eight-yard rushing touchdown from , making the score 14-8.

Prairie View A&M then scored to make it a 14-11 game, but UAPB responded with 1:20 left in the second quarter to extend its lead to 21-11. UAPB didn’t score again in the game and Prairie View A&M added six more points to finish off the scoring as UAPB got the big win on ESPN.

Game Notes

» UAPB and Prairie View A&M both had exactly 365 yards of total offense, while the Golden Lions had a 115-97 advantage on the ground.
» UAPB won the turnover battle 1-0 after picking off one pass.
» UAPB tallied 14 points in the second quarter, accounting for 66.7% of their total score.
» UAPB converted 3 of 11 third downs while Prairie View A&M was successful on 5 of 14.
» The Golden Lions had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Marcus Jones Jr , who had 13.

The Golden Lions will be back in HBCU football action on the road, when they take on Grambling St., Saturday October 19.  Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

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