After losing to Virginia Union last season with a chance to clinch a berth in the CIAA championship game, Virginia State gets a level of revenge, beating the Panthers 35-28.
With their win and Johnson C. Smith’s loss to Livingstone, the Trojans clinched their first CIAA title berth since 2017 in an immediate rematch against Virginia Union.
This will be the first CIAA championship game contested between two teams that faced each other in the regular season since Winston-Salem State and Elizabeth City State did so in 2011.
Romelo Williams career day
In the biggest game of the season for Virginia State, Trojans’ quarterback Romelo Williams came through, producing his best game of the year.
The transfer quarterback produced a season-high 294 passing yards, completing 61% of his passes and scoring three passing touchdowns.
Williams also tallied a season-high 55 rushing yards on 10 attempts and scored a touchdown.
Malik Hunter’s big-time performance
Aiding Romelo Williams in the passing game is leading wide receiver Malik Hunter, who also put forth his best performance of the year.
Hunter recorded six receptions for 197 yards (both season-highs), including a 91-yard touchdown reception.
He accounted for 67% of his team’s passing yards in the second game of his career with at least 100 receiving yards.
Virginia State’s defense featured a no-fly zone
Despite throwing for over 300 yards for the second game in a row, it was a rough day for Virginia Union quarterback Mark Wright.
He threw three interceptions in the game, one of which led to a Virginia State touchdown and another in the fourth quarter that helped the Trojans seal the win.
In total, the Panthers committed four turnovers in the game, with a fumble recovery leading to a 23-yard rushing touchdown by Jimmyll Williams to extend the Trojans’ lead to 35-21.
