The Prairie View A&M University football team concluded 2017 spring practice with the Purple and Gold Game Saturday afternoon at Panther Stadium.
 
The Gold Team rallied for a 10-7 win, earning bragging rights and the steak dinner that goes to the victors over the Purple Team, which was left with hot dogs and hamburgers. Neiko Hollins' touchdown pass to Jontre Epps with 1:48 proved to be the difference.
 
The Purple team drove the ball from its own 25 to the two-yard-line, but the Gold Squad came up with a defensive stop on the final play to preserve the win.
 
"I thought it was very competitive," said third-year head PVAMU head football coach Willie Simmons. "Anytime you have steaks or hamburgers and hotdogs on the line, it can get pretty testy. I thought that for the most part, they did a good job. I thought the defense stepped up and made plays, which they've done all spring. Offensively, we had a few guys out due to injury some we chose to hold out. Overall, we got better. That was the whole goal of this spring. We were able to try some new things out to head into the offseason.  We feel like we have a good foundation going into the summer. Hopefully we can put it all together, and have the type of championship run we're capable of having. "
 
The Panthers return to full practice in early August, when preparations will begin in earnest for the season opener at Texas Southern on Sept. 2 in the Labor Day Classic.
 
"I thought it was successful spring," said Simmons, who is the first PVAMU head football coach to post back-to-back winning seasons in his first two seasons since 1966-67. "It gave us the chance to slow some things down and really teach. We installed a lot. We put about 90 percent of our playbook in. Being able to practice for a day, and then take a day or two off to meet in between really gave us a chance to get some good film study in, and good walkthroughs in. These are the things you don't necessarily get to do in the fall when you're trying to practice daily and get ready for game."
 
At halftime, several Panthers were awarded special recognition: