PINE BLUFF, Ark. – For the second straight weekend, the Prairie View A&M Panthers watched victory slip from their hands in the final minute as Arkansas-Pine Bluff claimed a wild 42-41 victory at Golden Lion Stadium in PV’s season finale.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the SWAC West Champion, drove 73 yards on its opening drive as Ladarius Eckwood caught a 5-yard from from William Dunn. The Panthers responded on their ensuing possession as Courtney Brown capped off a nine-play, 55-yard drive with a 1-yard run with 9:19 remaining in the first quarter. However, the tie was short-lived as UAPB capped off an explosive quarter from that point with two more touchdowns to claim an early 21-7 lead.
Prairie View A&M bounced back with a solid drive which began late in the first quarter and culminated in the second quarter as wideout Jacoby Anderson caught a 7-yard pass from quarterback Jerry Lovelocke. Chris Barrick nailed the PAT as the Panthers trailed 21-7. UAPB jumped ahead 28-7 but PV fought back to close out the half as Spencer Nelson ran in for a score along with Robert Primes as PV trailed 28-27 with 2:18 remaining. However, UAPB added a touchdown with four seconds remaining to close out the half ahead 35-27.
The Panthers kept the gas pedal mashed in the third quarter as freshman Johnta’ Hebert returned the opening kickoff 32 yards. The Panthers kept the drive alive with a fake punt attempt as Krys Watkins rushed 17 yards to the UAPB 41. Lovelocke hit Spencer Nelson on a 36-yard pass attempt on the ensuing play and Brown made UAPB pay with a 2-yard run for the Panthers’ first touchdown on the half. The PAT from Barrick was successful as the deficit was cut to 35-34.
UAPB answered on the ensuing drive with a five-play, 38-yard drive as Ben Anderson rushed in from 19 yards out for the score. Tyler Strickland’s PAT was good as the Golden Lions went back up by eight, 42-34. The Panthers missed a field goal on the next drive but UAPB turned the ball over on its next drive as linebacker Elton Holmes picked up the fumble at the UAPB 42. The Panther offense rewarded its defense as Lovelocke eluded the rush and found a wide open Anderson for the touchdown. The Panthers climbed to within 42-41 after Barrick’s PAT with 14:53 left in the fourth quarter.
UAPB was on the verge of scoring again with 6:33 left but senior Brian Medlock made a diving interception in the end zone for a huge touchback. On the ensuing drive, Lovelocke made two huge third down passes as Patrick Gant turned a short pass into a 33-yard gain along with Robert Primes catching a big pass which moved PV into the redzone. Brown also got into the mix with a key rush on second down to move the Panthers deep into UAPB territory. However, after a PV timeout, the Panthers committed their first turnover of the game at the wrong time as UAPB’s Jarvis Webb forced a fumble on a rush attempt which landed into the hands of UAPB with 1:52 remaining.
UAPB’s Ben Anderson closed the game out with a big third down conversion run to seal the game on the final drive.
PV totaled 476 (175 R, 301 P) offensive yards on the afternoon as UAPB finished with 604 yards. Lovelocke passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-31 passing while Brown rushed for 98 yards on 17 attempts. Primes was the top wideout with seven receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, sophomore Jerome Howard tallied 13 tackles and three tackles for loss.
– Courtesy: Prairie View A&M Sports Information
