PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke football team racked up more than 320 yards of offense and forced a pair of key turnovers in the second half as the Braves rallied back from a halftime deficit to topple Winston-Salem State, 27-21, on Saturday evening at Grace P. Johnson Stadium.
The triumph snapped a four-game losing streak for the Braves (1-0) who got their first win in a season opener since 2016 as well. It was the fifth-straight game in the series to be decided by 10 points or less, and marked the first loss for Winston-Salem State in the series since 2016 as well.
| THE BASICS |
SCORE: UNC Pembroke 27, Winston-Salem State 21
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 1-0; Winston-Salem State 0-1
LOCATION: Pembroke, N.C. (Grace P. Johnson Stadium) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
UNCP drove 50 yards on 10 plays on the first possession for either team, and capped the five-minute drive with freshman Hunter Braswell's 28-yard field goal. UNCP 3, WSSU 0
Winston-Salem State answered on the ensuing possession, and benefitted from a costly roughing the passer penalty on the Braves, to take the lead. The Rams scored four plays after the untimely penalty when Dominique Graves found Quincy Jackson on a 7-yard scoring strike. WSSU 7, UNCP 3 |
| 2ND QUARTER |
The Braves bridged the first and second quarters with an 11-play, 63-yard scoring drive, and went ahead for the second time in the contest thanks to a 5-yard touchdown jaunt by senior Josh Sheridan. UNCP 10, WSSU 7
The Rams got the honor of the final possession of the opening half, and made it count. Dominique Graves ran for 16 yards on a key 3rd-and-1 situation, and completed all four of his passes for 40 yards on the drive, including a short 6-yard touchdown pass to Quarderman Sloane. WSSU 14, UNCP 10 |
| 3RD QUARTER |
After the two teams traded 3-and-out possessions, Winston-Salem State needed just one play to score on its second opportunity of the second half. Dominique Graves found Chandler Belk in space on a 78-yard scoring strike just more than three minutes into the second half. WSSU 21, UNCP 10
The Braves would answer on the ensuing possession, however, driving all the way down to the 8-yard line before settling for a 25-yard field goal from Hunter Braswell. WSSU 21, UNCP 13 |
| 4TH QUARTER |
Sean Hill's interception near midfield near the end of the third quarter proved to be fruitful for the hosts who drove 41 yards in three plays before capping the scoring drive on McKinley Nelson's 4-yard run up the middle. Josh Jones dove and contacted the pylon on the ensuing 2-point try, but referees ruled his knee had touched the ground prior to crossing the plane. WSSU 21, UNCP 20
The Black & Gold forced a 3-and-out on the ensuing possession and kept the momentum going with a 15-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that milked more than six minutes off of the clock. Josh Jones went 6-for-10 on the go-ahead drive, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Shammond Hicks. Travis Prince's 2-point conversion put the final points of the night on the board. UNCP 27, WSSU 21
Winston-Salem State drove 18 yards in just five plays on the ensuing possession, but Shawn Everett stepped in front of a Dominique Graves at midfield moments later to seal the outcome. |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Sophomore Josh Jones threw for 180 yards and one touchdown on 21-of-35 passing, while also running for a career-best 71 yards on 11 carries.
+ Redshirt sophomore Marcus McDonald caught a career-best six passes for a career-high 66 yards. Ten different players caught passes on the night for UNCP, including three by both Tyshawn Carter and Eric Price.
+ Freshman Hunter Braswell was perfect on three kick attempts in his collegiate debut, nailing both a 25- and 28-yard field goal, while also connecting on his lone point-after attempt.
+ Josh Sheridan (12 carries, 43 yards) and McKinley Nelson (5-26) both logged rushing touchdowns on the night.
+ Senior Shawn Everett picked off two passes on the night, but one of them was negated by penalty. Still, his one pickoff moved him into a third place tie with former UNCP standout Quentin Pate for third place on the program's all-time interception leaders. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ Saturday's win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Braves that dated back to a Homecoming win over Concord on October 20 of last season. It was also the first win in a season opener for UNCP since a 20-17 victory at Winston-Salem State in 2016.
+ The Braves are now 12-1 all-time in home openers. Their lone loss in such games came via a 34-31 setback to Winston-Salem State in the 2017 season opener.
+ UNCP is now 41-20 all-time at Grace P. Johnson Stadium, including a 3-2 mark at home in the series with the Rams. |
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| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will open up the road portion of their 2019 schedule next Saturday (September 14) when they journey to Ettrick, Va., to take on Virginia State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Rogers Stadium. |
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| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow UNCP Football on Twitter and Instagram and "Like" UNCP Football on Facebook. |
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| JOIN THE BRAVES CLUB |
| Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Football program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu. |
