| THE BASICS |
SCORE: UNC Pembroke 48, West Virginia State 21
RECORDS: UNC Pembroke 2-0, 2-0 MEC; West Virginia State 1-1, 1-1 MEC
LOCATION: Institute, W.Va. (Lakin Field) |
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| HOW IT HAPPENED |
| 1ST QUARTER |
The Yellowjackets converted the game's opening possession into a touchdown, driving 63 yards on seven plays before Dant'e Jones punched it in from two yards out. WVSU 7, UNCP 0
The Braves were quite methodical in answering the score on the ensuing possession. Josh Jones completed six of his seven pass attempts for 45 yards, and Travis Prince scored the first of his two touchdowns on the day to cap off the touchdown drive. WVSU 7, UNCP 7 |
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| 2ND QUARTER |
The Braves bridged the first and second quarters with an impressive 11-play, 63-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 5-yard scoring scamper by Deangelo Blair-Young. Sean Brown's 21-yard pass reception on a 3rd-and-9 situation near midfield proved to be key to the drive's success. UNCP 14, WVSU 7
West Virginia State trailed for just more than 4-1/2 minutes as the Yellowjackets drove 70 yards on nine plays with the ensuing possession to knot things back up. West Virginia converted a trio of 3rd-down situations on the drive, including when Donovan Riddick found Luke Gadson on a 39-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field for the game-tying score. UNCP 14, WVSU 7
After going 3-and-out on its previous possession, the Braves needed just one play to take the lead for good midway through the period. Marshall transfer Joseph Early round a hole on the left side of the WVSU defense and raced 46 yards untouched down the far sideline for his first career score as a member of the Black & Gold. Alex Alvarado's PAT try sailed wide left. UNCP 21, WVSU 14
UNCP padded its lead out to two scores on its next possession which took just more than two minutes off of the game clock. Josh Jones threw for 64 yards on 3-for-3 passing on the possession, including a key 52-yard strike to Trey Dixon, before Deangelo Blair-Young dove in from four yards out to cap the first-half scoring. Jones found Shammond Hicks on a 2-point conversion pass to give the visitors a 28-14 lead heading into intermission. UNCP 28, WVSU 14
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| 3RD QUARTER |
The Braves made good on their second possession of the second half, milking nearly seven minutes off of the game clock with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Josh Jones completed all six of his pass attempts for 54 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown pass to Shammond Hicks in the corner of the end zone. UNCP 35, WVSU 14
Shortly after the touchdown, the visitors used Dante Bowlding's 24-yard interception return to set up shop at the WVSU 21-yard line. Joseph Early ran for three yards on each of the next two plays from scrimmage, before Sean Brown finished off the scoring drive with a 15-yard reception from Josh Jones. UNCP 42, WVSU 14 |
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| 4TH QUARTER |
The Braves put their final points of the day on the scoreboard with their first possession of the fourth quarter. UNCP stuck to the ground game for its first four plays of the drive, before Josh Jones completed long passes on the next two plays, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Shammond Hicks. Alex Alvarado's PAT attempt sailed wide of the goalposts. UNCP 48, WVSU 14
The Yellowjackets forced turnovers on consecutive possessions by the Black & Gold late in the game, but were only able to turn the second one into points. Facing a short field after a fumble recovery set the hosts up at the 16-yard line, Donovan Riddick found Keedrick Cunningham on a 2-yard scoring strike to cap the game scoring. UNCP 48, WVSU 21 |
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| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
+ Reigning Mountain East Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week Josh Jones threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-29 passing with no interceptions. He completed passes to nine different receivers on the day.
+ Four different receivers accounted for 40 or more receiving yards on the day. Jai'Veon Smalls (61 yards) led the receiving corps on the day with six receptions, while Trey Dixon registered a team-best 71 receiving yards on four catches. Shammond Hicks caught a pair of touchdown passes.
+ Three different running backs combined to post four touchdowns in the contest. Deangelo Blair-Young ran for 17 yards (7 attempts) and two scores, while Joseph Early (5 rushes, 63 yards) and Travis Prince (11-42) each found the end zone as well.
+ Sean Hill tallied a team-best five tackles on the day, while Cam Caldron and Dante Bowlding each recorded interceptions. Masanka Kanku totaled three sacks (-5 yards) against the Yellowjackets. |
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| NOTABLES |
+ The Braves went 11-of-14 (.786) on 3rd Down conversions on the afternoon – their best performance on 3rd down in the 14-year modern era history of the program.
+ UNCP was a perfect 5-for-5 on red zone opportunities on the day. The seven touchdowns are the most scored by the program since finding the end zone seven times in a win over Concord on Oct. 20, 2018.
+ The Black & Gold has limited its first two opponents to sub-100-yard rushing days. It is the first time that the Braves have accomplished that feat in back-to-back games since wins over Concord (37 rushing yards) and Valdosta State (28) during the 2016 campaign.
+ The Braves are 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 campaign, and have captured their first two road games for the first time since that campaign as well. |
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| UP NEXT |
| UNCP will continue a season-opening three-game road trip on March 27 when it heads back to West Virginia to take on fellow Mountain East Conference South Division Co-Leader Charleston (2-0, 2-0 MEC). Kickoff is scheduled for noon inside University of Charleston Stadium. Visiting spectators, including parents of student-athletes on visiting teams, will not be admitted. |
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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. |
