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FB22 Parker
Photo: Todd Griffith
24
West Virginia State WVSU 4-3 , 3-3
45
Winner UNC Pembroke UNCP 4-3 , 4-2
West Virginia State WVSU
4-3 , 3-3
24
Final
45
UNC Pembroke UNCP
4-3 , 4-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WVSU West Virginia State 7 14 3 0 24
UNCP UNC Pembroke 14 17 7 7 45

Game Recap: Football | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

Yellow Jackets defeated by UNC Pembroke, 45-24

PEMBROKE, N.C. – The West Virginia State University football team (4-3, 3-3 MEC) was defeated by UNC Pembroke ( 4-3, 4-2 MEC) by a final score of 45-24 at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. The Yellow Jackets kept it close in the first half, but could not keep up in the second half to allow the Braves to run away with it.

Senior quarterback Donovan Riddick performed well despite being sacked four times. He completed 24-of-31 passes (77 percent) for 222 yards and a single touchdown.He also ran for an additional 44 net yards. His favorite target was wide receiver Keedrick Cunnigham who caught nine passes for 85 yards (9.4 yards per catch).

Junior linebacker Xavius Hager had a breakout performance with a career-high 10 tackles, including one sack. He also recovered a fumble. Fellow junior Nicholas Fannin had another big game from his defensive back position with seven solo tackles in the open field.

The Braves had no issues moving the ball down the field on the opening drive of the game. UNCP quarterback Josh Jones used his arm and legs to pick up the brunt of the yardage until he finally scampered into the end zone himself, 7-0.

Pembroke scored again with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter after scooping up a fumbled punt for a score, 14-0.

The WVSU offense picked up its first, first down of the contest on the ensuing possession and kept on rolling. Donovan Riddick rushed 19-yards to midfield to give the Yellow Jackets a much-needed jolt. Then he made another big play when he found Keedrick Cunnigham for an 18-yard pass completion to set up a goal-to-go situation. Joe Jones ended up punching the ball into the end zone from one yard out with around one minute to go in the opening quarter, 14-7.

The Braves were first to score in the second quarter after finishing off their drive from the end of the previous quarter. Josh Jones ran one in again to increase the deficit, 21-7.

Two possessions later, UNCP was backed up behind its own 20 yard line after a 49-yard punt by Brennen Schmitt. State's Avery Scott intercepted a pass from Josh Jones on third down and returned it for a touchdown to cut into the lead, 21-14. Over nine minutes remained in the first half after the score.

Both teams traded touchdown drives following the pick six. Pembroke's JaQuan Kelly broke off a 33-yard run before crossing the plane from two yards out, 28-14. WVSU then strung together a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard pass to a wide open Liam Reid in the end zone, 28-21.

With around two minutes to go in the second quarter, the Braves took back over and made their way into field goal range. The WVSU defense stopped them at the 15 yard line and forced a 32-yard field goal attempt. The field goal attempt was good to create a 10-point deficit, 31-21, for State to overcome at halftime.

The Yellow Jackets received the second half kickoff and proceeded to march down the field. Wideout Drew Hatfield made a heads up play on third down to keep the drive alive early on. He caught a pass that popped out of another wideout's clutches for an 18-yard gain. The drive eventually stalled at Pembroke's 28 yard line to bring out the field goal unit. Schmitt came on to boot a career-long, 45-yard field goal attempt through the uprights, 31-24.

UNCP tacked on another touchdown, 38-24, in the third quarter before State made it into the red zone with a 14-play, six-minute drive. The drive stalled at Pembroke's 15 yard line and a bobbled snap on the field goal attempt resulted in zero points for WVSU. The third quarter came to a close shortly after the botched field goal attempt.

The Braves were poised to score again at the beginning of the fourth quarter after breaking into the red zone. State's Corlyn Witcher forced a fumble when he hit Pembroke's scrambling quarterback and Xavius Hager recovered it to keep the Yellow Jackets in the game.

WVSU made it past midfield after the turnover thanks in large part to a 30-yard strike from Riddick to Cunningham. Unfortunately, a failed fourth down conversion ended up giving the ball back to the Braves on their 45 yard line with 7:21 remaining in the contest.

The WVSU defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession to set the offense back up after only one minute ticked off the clock. The Yellow Jackets then turned the ball over on downs on their own 22 yard line to kill off any chance of a late comeback.

Pembroke scored one more touchdown on the following possession to give the game its final score, 45-24.

West Virginia State was the more disciplined side with only one penalty in the entire 60 minutes. UNC Pembroke committed eight penalties in comparison, but those penalties only resulted in a total of 39 yards gained by WVSU.

The Yellow Jackets will face another tough test in Concord (5-1, 4-1 MEC) next week. They will have longer to rest between games as the Mountain Lions will square up against Charleston this Saturday. The kickoff from Lakin-Ray Field at Dickerson Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 22nd.

 
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