Lincoln University, Pa. — The Virginia State University Trojan football team continues its undefeated season as they secured a 73-21 victory over the Lions of Lincoln University this afternoon at Lions Stadium. Big plays on both offense and defense helped the visiting Trojans of Virginia State give the Lions an upset as they celebrated Homecoming. Virginia State’s record moves to 7-0 overall, 5-0 CIAA and 3-0 in the North. Lincoln University moves to 0-8 overall, 0-5 CIAA and 0-3 North. The last time the Trojans held a 7-0 record was in 1970.
The Trojans were led offensively by Cordelral Cook (Atlanta, Ga.) with 152 passing yards on 6-of-9 passes. Redshirt junior Joshua Harris led all receivers with 95 reception yards on four catches. Senior Trenton Cannon (Hampton, Va.) carried the ball nine times for 253 yards and recorded five touchdowns. Cannon is only 68 yards away from breaking VSU’s career rushing record.
Virginia State racked up 699 total yards of offense compared to 331 for Lincoln University.
Junior Malik Sexton (Portsmouth, Va.), sophomore Cullen Marshall (Suffolk, Va.) and senior Logan Oce (Miami, Fla.) was Virginia State’s leading tacklers with five each. Followed by redshirt freshman Jaylen Cuffee (Norfolk, Va.), seniors Brandon Lynch (Norfolk, Va.) and Keonte Connelly (Baltimore, Md.) who each recording four tackles.
Virginia State scores on their first possession with a 48-yard rushing touchdown by Cook at the 12:11 mark of the first quarter. The extra point was good to give the Trojans a 7-0 led. The Trojans then added another touchdown on a 37-yard run by Blair Wynn at the 6:19 mark to edge the Trojans 13-0 to close of the first quarter. Bringing the same momentum into the second quarter, VSU added its first touchdown at the 13:46 mark on a 5-yard run by Thomas Koufie. Senior Trenton Cannon then connected with Niko Johnson on a 21 yard pass to give the Trojans an extended 26-0 lead at the 11:17 mark. Cannon exploded for a 68-yard run into the end zone bringing the score 32-0 at the 7:24 mark.
LUPA then answered back by adding their first touchdown of the game on a 9 yard pass when Espinoza connected with Elijah Smith at the 5:21 mark bringing the score to 32-7. Cannon continued to dominate on the field by returning the ball for 95-yards at the 5:06 mark, growing VSU’s lead 39-7. Another big play by Cannon at the 3:03 mark closed out VSU’s scoring in the first half, giving the Trojans a 46-7 lead into halftime.
Opening the third quarter Cannon showed up again, running the ball for 75-yards at the 11:40 mark in the third quarter. Quarterback Cordelral Cook then followed by running the ball for a one-yard touchdown, extending the scoring gap, 60-7. The Lions eventually answered by when Espinoza connected with Trey McCollum on a five-yard pass into the end zone at the 3:28 mark. Cook then returned the favor with another one yard run into the end zone with 00:02 seconds in the third quarter, bring the score to 67-14.
The Lions tried their best to rally back in the final quarter of the game adding an additional touchdown to the books at the 9:26 mark when Espinoza connected with Andre Price on a 12-yard pass, bring the score to 67-21. The Trojans rounded out the game by collecting their final touchdown of the competition at the 02:04 mark by Aaron Monts who ran in for 11-yards to give the Trojans a 73-21 victory.
Next, the VSU Trojans will travel to Murfreesboro, North Carolina to face the Hawks of Chowan University on Saturday, October 28. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Courtesy: VSU Athletics
