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Prairie View A&M wins State Fair Classic over Grambling State as RB Dawonya Tucker has record-breaking performance

At a mere 5-5 and 180 pounds, Dawonya Tucker appears far from menacing on the football field.

But as the saying goes, good things come in small packages.

Tucker and Arlington Seguin alum Jalen Morton sparked Prairie View A&M as the Panthers surged from an early deficit to top SWAC rival Grambling State 42-36 Saturday evening at the Cotton Bowl. Building on an impressive start to his senior season, Tucker racked up 263 yards on 26 carries -- breaking the school's single-game rushing record -- with two touchdowns and Morton finished the night an effective 16-of-21 passing with two total touchdowns, while adding 128 rushing yards in the State Fair Classic win.

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"(Setting the record) means everything to me, just the hard work that my team and I put in," Tucker said. "We put everything together in this game."

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With the Tigers up 7-0 early, Tucker quickly made his presence felt. The Panthers' senior burst through the Grambling defense and ran untouched for a 60-yard score to level the game.

The Tigers then scored the next 10 points to retake the lead, but the quick-strike Prairie View offense answered less than two minutes later as Tucker capped off a six-play, 75-yard drive with another rushing score.

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That was the start of a dominant surge for the Panthers -- Prairie View would seize control of the game with a 24-6 stretch to close the opening half, including a pair of touchdowns in the final 3:18 of the second quarter.

"We just had to settle down and play the game," head coach Eric Dooley said. "The emotions were high with a lot of guys from this area. I told them, 'Just play your game.'"

But a game that looked like it had the making of a high-scoring battle quickly transformed into a clash of defenses. For more than 23 minutes, the teams went scoreless, with six punts and a missed field goal comprising all the action.

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Finally, though, it was the Panthers that got back on the scoreboard, cashing in with a quarterback sneak by Morton at the end of an 84-yard drive that chewed more than four minutes off the clock at the start of the fourth quarter. With a wild two-point conversion -- one that featured an interception, a Grambling fumble and a recovery by a Prairie View lineman -- the Panthers found themselves up a comfortable 16 points at 39-23.

"I knew it was going to be a challenge and a fight until the end," Dooley said. "It was going to be exciting and I'm just pleased and blessed to come out on this end."

For Prairie View, Saturday was a homecoming of sorts, with 23 Panthers having played high school ball in the D-FW area. Like Morton on the offensive side of things, Drake Cheatum, a former West Mesquite standout, led the Prairie View defense with eight tackles.

But Cheatum almost didn't get to play much of the game.

The Panthers' safety put a massive hit on Grambling's Quintin Guice, drawing a targeting flag as well as an unsportsmanlike foul.

"I was just praying, 'Please don't let me get kicked out of this game,'" Cheatum said. "I didn't want to let my teammates down."

After review, however, the possible ejection was rescinded, giving the Dallas native a chance to continue playing in his hometown. And Cheatum took advantage of the second chance, grabbing an interception late in the fourth quarter that all but ended the Tigers' hopes of a comeback bid.

"It feels good," Cheatum said of his standout performance. "The Dallas vibe -- I love my city, so I just take care of business when I come home."