The Virginia Union Panthers remained undefeated in conference play following a 37-18 win over the Elizabeth City State Vikings.
The defending CIAA champions have now won four straight games following their only loss this season against Edward Waters, improving to 3-0 against the CIAA in the process (win over Johnson C. Smith did not count toward conference record).
This win was highlighted by the bizarre stat of Panthers’ wide receiver Keon Davis ending the game with more receiving yards than quarterback RJ Rosales did passing yards.
Davis ended with six receptions for 175 yards, accounting for each of the Panthers’ two touchdowns. He outgained Rosales’ 172 passing yards, primarily caused by a five-yard loss on a screen pass to running back Ramon Brown in the second quarter.
Curtis Allen continued his streak of 100-yard rushing games through his first six games, this time tallying 163 rushing yards on 27 attempts and two touchdowns.
With four games remaining in the regular season, Allen is 350 rushing yards away from becoming the fifth running back in Virginia Union history to rush for over 1,500 yards in a season (651 away from setting a new school regular season record).
In what was a 14-12 lead for the Panthers, they put their foot on the gas in the second half, setting the tone on the first play from scrimmage on a 70-yard touchdown pass downfield from Rosales to Davis.
The Vikings would bring the game back within one possession, thanks to a 20-yard pick-six by D’Andre Tolson later in the period.
However, with special teams problems plaguing the Vikings, missing a pair of PATs, they opted to go for a two-point conversion that eventually failed.
The Vikings would not get close to scoring again, with only one of their four remaining offensive drives ending on Virginia Union’s end of the field.
Meanwhile, the Panthers put the game away in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, controlling time of possession with the run game and scoring a pair of touchdowns (both by Allen) to seal the deal.
