The Prairie View A&M football team scored touchdowns on eight of its first nine possessions in a 66-13 rout of Alabama State Saturday at Panther Stadium.
The Panthers gained 673 yards total offense in scoring 60+ points for the second time this season, a feat not accomplished since 1951. In that season, PVAMU won 64-0 over Sam Huston (now Huston-Tillotson) and Bishop College 72-0 in the first two games of the season.
Jalen Morton accounted for six touchdowns, passing for 290 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns. It was Morton's second six-touchdown game of the season, as he rushed for a school-record tying four touchdowns while passing for two others in a 62-13 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 22.
Dawonya Tucker rushed 19 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns and also caught two passes for 25 yards and a touchdown. Tucker now has 1,030 yards this season and is the first PVAMU player to rush for 1,000 yards since Johnta' Hebert's 1,063 yards in 2014.
Markcus Hardy (three receptions, 95 yards)
Tristen Wallace (three receptions, 65 yards), and
Kalen Riles (two receptions, 32 yards) each caught touchdown passes in the game.
Defensively, the Panthers limited Alabama St. to 280 total yards, forcing three turnovers.
"I thought it was a great performance by our kids," said PVAMU head coach
Eric Dooley. "They came out and they played hard. A lot of times, you think you don't have anything to play for. As a team, we have to build momentum. I don't want to put this season to rest, but we have to build momentum into the next year because this is what we are expected to do. I was pleased by the effort and the execution in all three phases of the game."
Prairie View A&M scored on its first three drives of the game. A nine-play, 74-yard drive ended with Wallace's 19-yard touchdown catch in the far corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game.
Following an Alabama State touchdown, the Panthers drove 71 yards in only five plays as Riles caught a 27-yard touchdown pass in the middle of the end zone for a 14-6 lead with 8:47 to play in the opening quarter.
The PVAMU defense forced a three-and-out, leading to the third touchdown in the opening 10+ minutes of the game. A nine-play, 84-yard drive ended with Morton's 32-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 21-6 lead 4:53 to play in the first quarter.
Prairie View A&M then scored touchdowns on five straight drives following an interception to break the game open. Tucker ended the next two possessions with scoring runs (6,1) to help extend to a 35-6 lead with just under nine minutes to play until halftime.
Caleb Broach's 16-yard scoring run with 2:36 to play preceded Hardy's 41-yard touchdown reception to give the Panthers a 49-6 halftime lead.
A six-play, season-long 97-yard touchdown drive, ended with Morton's 37-yard touchdown run and 56-6 lead with 11:17 to play in the third quarter.
Prairie View A&M will conclude the 2018 season hosting Texas Southern next Saturday at 1 p.m., with a live video stream at pvpanthers.com/sportsnetwork. Tickets are available at pvpanthers.com/tickets.
