BOX SCORE
SAN MARCOS, Texas - After his team's 34-26 loss to Texas State Saturday afternoon, Prairie View A&M football coach Heishma Northern said he felt like the team probably beat itself.
The Panthers out-gained Texas State in total yards 424-to-331, had 11 more first downs and even won the time of possession battle. However, a few mistakes and let-downs cost the Panthers a close game.
"I think we played a good game," Northern said. "But I tell my guys we don't take any solace in moral victories. It was a game we could have won. We just had a few mistakes here or there."
Trailing 34-26, Prairie View had a chance for a game-tying drive within the final minute of the fourth stanza. Freshman quarterback Jerry Lovelocke, who started and played the entire game for the Panthers, led the team to the PV 40. On fourth-and-long with 24 seconds left, he looked to complete a long pass to receiver Gabe Dunlap to Texas State's 20-yard line. However, Dunlap got hit in the air and the ball was forced out as he hit the ground for an incomplete pass which ended the Panthers' chances at winning. Lovelocke completed 13-of-34 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 103 yards.
Prairie View A&M freshman running back Fred Anderson scored on a touchdown run from seven yards out with 13:08 left in the game to give Prairie View a 26-24 lead. This put the exclamation mark on a long drive for the Panthers which summed up to 11 plays and 74 yards. But Texas State running back Tim Hawkins scored on a four-yard touchdown run to give the Bobcats a 31-26 lead with 10:16 left in the game. The Panthers rushed for 300 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Chris Barrick's 22-yard field goal with 2:50 left in the third quarter gave the Panthers a 19-17 lead, and capped off a 15-play, 66-yard scoring drive. But after Prairie View took its first lead of the game, Texas State struck back on special teams on the ensuing kickoff with a 93-yard kickoff return by Isaiah Battle. Barrick also converted a 31-yard field goal with 10:26 left in the third to cut Texas State's lead to 17-16.
Panthers' running back Le'Darryae Groover (19 rushes, 85 yards) scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left in the first half to cut Prairie View A&M's deficit to 17-13. It was part of a 68-yard drive the Panthers executed in their two-minute offense. A pass interference call in the endzone with 24 seconds left on the clock set the Panthers up with the ball at the two-yard line, and Groover made Texas State pay for it.
Adrian Hamilton picked up his 17th sack of the season with 1:06 left in the first quarter. Hamilton leads the SWAC in sacks and is three away from breaking the all-time Football Championship Subdivision record held by Robert Mathis. Hamilton leads the nation, including both the FCS and FBS schools in total sacks.
Lovelocke connected with receiver Spencer Nelson for a 17-yard touchdown pass to cap off a six-play 80-yard drive with 5:30 left in the first quarter. Groover busted a 23-yard run to spark the offense to start off the drive, and the Panthers also capitalized off of 28 penalty yards on the drive. Prairie View A&M missed the extra point but cut its deficit to 14-6.
Texas State scored on its first two drives of the game to jump out to a 14-0 lead over Prairie View.
On the game-opening drive Lovelocke broke off a 44-yard run that would have been a huge spark for the Panthers, but he was stripped by Texas State defensive end Michael Ebbitt and turned the ball over.
Texas State then made Prairie View A&M pay for the mistake by capping off an eight-play 65-yard scoring drive with a five-yard run by quarterback Shaun Rutherford.
With the loss, Prairie View falls to 4-5 on the season. They'll step back into SWAC play next Saturday afternoon with a matchup at Alcorn State.
