PINE BLUFF, Ark. — The Grambling State University football team held off a late charge by Arkansas-Pine Bluff as the Tigers escaped with a 31-26 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory on Saturday afternoon at Golden Lion Stadium.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-7 overall, 1-4 SWAC) took the opening kickoff and marched 59 yards before the drive stalled inside the Grambling State 5-yard line. A sack by De’Andre Hogues forced the Golden Lions to kick a field goal as Jamie Gillan booted the 28-yard kick to give UAPB a 3-0 advantage with 10:33 left in the first quarter.
After the two teams traded possessions, Grambling State’s offense went to work as the Tigers went 80 yards in 11 plays as Devante Kincade connected with Jordan Jones for an 11-yard touchdown reception to give GSU a 7-3 lead with 4:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Golden Lions responded on their next drive as Arkansas-Pine Bluff went 62 yards in just four plays as Brandon Duncan hit Kolby McNeal on a screen pass for the 15-yard score, giving UAPB a 10-7 advantage with 2:47 left in the first.
Back came Grambling State as the Tigers marched 70 yards in seven plays as Kincade fired a 17-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Clark to give GSU a 14-10 lead with 14 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff cashed in off a Kincade interception as the Golden Lions went 40 yards in 10 plays as Gillan booted a 34-yard field goal to close the margin to 14-13 with 8:30 left in the first half.
After a missed 49-yard field goal by Gillan, Grambling State marched 69 yards to extend the lead to 21-13 with 2:50 remaining in the quarter. On fourth down, the Tigers appeared to line up for a 46-yard field goal, but after a GSU timeout, Kincade completed a 26-yard pass to Calif Simon. On the very next play, Martez Carter rushed three yards into the end zone to cap the nine-play scoring drive.
On Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s next drive, Ja’Terious Pouncy picked off Golden Lions backup quarterback Marcus Terrell and returned the interception to the Tigers 44. Grambling State quickly matriculated the ball down the field in just five plays as Kincade connected with Marquise Kaigler for a 7-yard score to extend the Tigers lead to 28-13 with 47 seconds remaining in the half.
The Golden Lions cut the deficit to 28-16 with 4:15 remaining as Arkansas-Pine Bluff used a 10-play drive, capped by a 35-yard field goal by Gillan.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff continued to chip away at the deficit as Terrell connected with McNeil for a 9-yard touchdown pass, capping a 9-play, 69-yard drive, to close the gap to 28-23 with 11:53 remaining.
The Tigers (8-1, 5-0) capitalized on a Golden Lions turnover as Keshawn Williams coughed up the football at its own 18. Grambling State went three-and-out, but benefited from a 38-yard field goal by Marc Orozco to extend the lead to 31-23 with 6:07 left.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff went 46 yards in nine plays, but ended up with a 43-yard field goal by Gillan to trim the margin to 31-26 with 2:04 remaining.
After forcing Grambling State to punt the football, Arkansas-Pine Bluff was forced to go 86 yards for the game-winning score.
The Golden Lions were able to pick up a first down, but La’Allan Clark’s sack with four seconds left sealed the victory for the Tigers.
Courtesy: GSU Athletics
