Winston-Salem, NC — Virginia Union College left little question about its offensive id on Saturday afternoon, overpowering Winston-Salem State College (WSSU) 44-34 at Bowman Grey Stadium behind a punishing floor assault that dictated the tempo from the opening drive.
The Panthers rushed for a staggering 408 yards on 63 carries, chewing up greater than 41 minutes of possession and carrying down a WSSU protection that merely couldn’t get off the sphere. Senior working again Curtis Allen was unstoppable, piling up 249 dashing yards and 4 touchdowns on 34 carries. From the primary quarter on, he set a bodily tone that mirrored Virginia Union’s dominance up entrance.
Virginia Union established management early
Virginia Union’s offensive line imposed its will instantly, opening up holes on the primary two drives that ended with Allen landing runs of 5 and 24 yards. By the top of the primary quarter, the Panthers led 16-0, having already pressured a security and outgained the Rams 153-13.
When Allen added a four-yard landing run halfway by way of the second quarter, the Panthers had been forward 23-0 and totally in management. Even when Winston-Salem State briefly discovered life by way of the air, Virginia Union responded by going proper again to the run. The Panthers’ physicality persistently reset the road of scrimmage, creating second-and-short conditions that allowed quarterback RJ Rosales to combine in well timed play-action passes. Rosales completed with 143 yards and a landing whereas additionally including 38 yards and a dashing rating.
A quick WSSU rally
Winston-Salem State, to its credit score, confirmed battle in entrance of its residence crowd of roughly 6,000. Sophomore quarterback Daylin Lee linked with Jahari Mitchell 3 times for touchdowns, together with a 36-yard strike that momentarily reduce the deficit to 23-7 within the second quarter. Mitchell completed with 151 receiving yards and all three of WSSU’s passing scores, whereas working again JaQuan Kelly added a 62-yard landing run early within the third quarter to tug the Rams inside 30-21.
However each time WSSU appeared to construct momentum, Virginia Union’s run sport answered with pressure. Allen ripped off a 42-yard landing lower than two minutes after Kelly’s lengthy rating, and Rosales capped one other bruising drive with a one-yard plunge to push the lead again to 44-21.
Virginia Union managed each section
The ultimate field rating advised the story of Virginia Union’s management. The Panthers ran 25 extra performs, held the ball for over 41 minutes, and transformed 4 red-zone touchdowns. WSSU managed 400 complete yards however was pressured into brief drives as a result of Panthers’ clock-draining model.
Defensively, Virginia Union’s entrance seven restricted the Rams to simply 20 dashing makes an attempt and registered a number of key stops on fourth down. Linebacker Ahmad Ross led the way in which with 5 tackles, together with a deal with for loss, whereas the Panthers’ protection harassed Lee all through regardless of not recording a sack.
Assertion win for VUU, again to the drafting board for WSSU
For Virginia Union (4-1, 2-0 CIAA), the victory reaffirmed its standing as one of many CIAA’s most full groups—able to dominating the trenches and dictating tempo towards high quality opponents.
Winston-Salem State (3-3, 1-2 CIAA) confirmed flashes of explosiveness however couldn’t overcome its early deficit or the relentless tempo set by VUU’s floor assault. WSSU is 0-4 towards VUU relationship again to 2018
As head coach Alvin Parker’s squad continues its championship pursuit, Saturday’s win underscored what the numbers made clear: when Virginia Union runs the soccer like this, few groups in HBCU soccer can gradual them down
