Panthers Hold On To Defeat Alabama A&M 33-27

Saturday, November 07, 2009 07:21 PM

GAME BOX SCORE

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas - Prairie View A&M jumped out to an early lead but had to hold on for dear life as they held off a late rally by Alabama A&M in a 33-27 victory at Blackshear Field before 4,876 fans on Saturday afternoon.

Prairie View scored on its opening possession as Gabe Osaze-Ediae caught a short pass from quarterback K.J. Black and raced 21 yards to the endzone for a 6-0 lead.  Brady Faggard's PAT was good as the Panthers led 7-0 with 13:30 left in the first quarter.  Alabama A&M answered Prairie View's score several drives later as tailback Ulysses Banks took a handoff 42 yards for a touchdown.  Jeremy Licea's PAT was good as the Bulldogs tied the game at 7-all.  The tie didn't last long though as Osaze-Ediae once again came up big and scored his second touchdown of the game as the senior from Austin, Texas caught a 72-yard pass from Black en route to a 13-7 advantage. 

The Panthers used the pass to its advantage once again early in the second quarter as Black connected with a wide-open Anthony Weeden for a 21-yard touchdown with 8:52 left in the half.  A 25-yard field goal by Faggard closed out the scoring for the half as the Panthers claimed a 24-7 halftime lead.

Prairie View recorded a safety midway through the third quarter to move ahead 26-7.  After receiving the free kick from the Bulldogs, running back Donald Babers took it upon himself to give the Panthers a 33-7 lead on the ensuing drive as the Houston native recorded every carry en route to scoring on a 4-yard run for a 33-7 advantage with 8:56 remaining in the quarter.

The comfortable lead withered away in the second half as Alabama A&M scored 20 unanswered points from that span to crawl back into the game.  However, Prairie View's special teams saved the day as Weeden recovered the onside kick to preserve the win with 24 seconds left.

Prairie View finished with 321 (224 P, 97 R) yards of offense while Alabama A&M netted 376 yards (191 R, 185 P).  Black threw for 224 yards on 14 of 27 passing and three touchdowns followed by 113 yards rushing from Babers.  Osaze-Ediae totaled 104 yards on three receptions while free safety Chris Adingupu recorded six tackles and one interception.

The Panthers travel to Alcorn State, Miss. next weekend for a match-up against Alcorn State at 2 p.m.  A lot will be on the line next Saturday as a win by the Panthers would clinch a berth in the SWAC Championship Game.