Virginia State concluded a dominant weekend of football with an emphatic 76-13 win over Shaw, maintaining its perfect record in CIAA play.
With the win, the Trojans improved to 7-0 against Division II opponents this season, including a perfect 6-0 record against the CIAA.
Each of their seven wins has come by double-digit margins (average margin of 16.4 points), with this being the second straight over 50 points.
Quarterback Rahsaan Matthews finished with 305 passing yards on 74% completion, scoring six touchdowns, including five passing.
In his last three games, Matthews is averaging 321 passing yards on 67% passing, having scored 14 passing touchdowns without an interception.
Jaylen Pretlow was the recipient of two of the Trojans’ five passing touchdowns, hauling in a total of five receptions for 86 yards.
The Virginia State defense had its way with the opposition at the line of scrimmage, generating pressure to the tune of six sacks and recovering a pair of fumbles.
Despite the lopsided score, Shaw actually started this game strong, scoring on its second play from scrimmage, taking advantage of a breakdown in coverage to connect on a 60-yard passing touchdown.
Virginia State quickly answered with a touchdown of its own on a 15-yard pass from Matthews to Pretlow.
With 2:46 remaining in the first quarter, and Shaw facing 3rd-and-10 on VSU’s 14-yard line, the Trojans’ defense made a huge play that became the turning point in the contest.
As quarterback Alexander Marsh dropped back to pass, the Trojans recovered a strip-sack forced by Mustapha Coly, converting the turnover into points as the game transitioned to the second quarter.
From there, the Virginia State offense proved to be unstoppable, scoring touchdowns on all of their remaining drives to cruise to victory.
Heading into an idle weekend, Virginia State will return to the football field on Halloween weekend, going on the road to face the defending CIAA champion, Johnson C. Smith.
