The Braves knew going into this weekend’s matchup against Prairie View that they had to score in the upper 50’s to win. Well, the Braves did just that defeating the Panthers 77-49 at Blackshear Stadium in Prairie View, Texas.
Billy Shed got the party started racing down the field for an 83 yards on a pass from quarterback John Gibbs, Jr. to place the Braves inside Prairie View’s 10-yard line. Three players later, freshman running back Arron Baker scored from three yards out to put the Braves ahead 7-0.
After a forced fumble by the Braves defense, backup quarterback Lenorris found his way into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown which pushed the Braves lead to 14-0.
Prairie View rebounded with back-to-back touchdowns to tie the game at 14-14 but the Braves held their composure. Gibbs connected with Anthony Williams III for a 20-yard touchdown to put the Braves back ahead 21-14 just before the end of the first quarter.
Prairie View missed on a field goal opportunity and the Braves took advantage of the opportunity to score. Williams III found the end zone again from four yards out to give the Braves a 28-14 lead.
On the first play of Prairie View’s next drive, Damon Watkins intercepted a pass and with a great return he placed the Braves on the Panthers five-yard line. Two plays later, Baker scored his second rushing touchdown of the day to extend the Braves lead to 35-14 8:57 to go in the second quarter.
Prairie View answered the Braves touchdown with one of their own to cut the lead to 35-21. The Braves answered right back on a 49-yard pass from Gibbs to Brandon Vessell to push the Braves lead back to three touchdowns 42-21.
The Braves allowed Prairie View to score again to make the score 42-28. Gibbs hit one of his receivers again from three yards out to push the lead to 49-28 heading into the locker room.
A total of 35 and 42 points were scored between the two teams in the first and second quarter, respectively.
The Braves were unsuccessful on their first drive of the third quarter but Prairie View managed to score on their first drive of the third quarter to cut the Braves lead to 49-35.
Baker’s 16-yard touchdown on the Braves next drive gave the Braves a 56-35 advantage.
The Braves would score point number 63 after a 42-yard punt return by Anthony Williams, Jr. which put the Braves in great field position.
Running back Robert Clay would score the Braves final touchdown and Prairie View scored two more times to finalize the game with the Braves winning 77-48.
The last time the Braves scored 70 points or more was in 1967 when the Braves hung 101 points on Paul Quinn.
Gibbs finished the game with a career-high 362 passing yards on 18-of-27 passing and a season-high four touchdowns. Baker carried the ball 15 times for a career-high 149 yards and three touchdowns. He also averaged 9.9 yards per carry.
Kicker Haiden McCraney recorded a career-high 11-for-11 on PATs and accounted for 11 of the Braves 77 points.
With the win, Head Coach Jay Hopson earns his 20th career victory as the Braves head coach.
Courtesy: alcornsports.com
