HOUSTON, TX – The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football team dropped a key SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) matchup against Texas Southern with a final score of 59 – 17 on Saturday afternoon at PNC Stadium.
RB Kayvon Britten led in rushing yards, rushing for 52-yards through 12 carries, with a touchdown under his belt for UAPB.
WR Trey Harrell led the Golden Lions in receiving yards with 126-yards through eight receptions, including a long 46-yard reception resulting in a touchdown.
DB Jalon Thigpen led in stops for the Golden Lions on the defensive side, finishing with nine tackles.
Coming out with a mission, the Golden Lions would go on an eight-play scoring drive in their first possession of the game to pick up 73-yards collectively throughout the drive. Perry kept the momentum going, launching a 55-yard pass to Keyvien Johnson at the TxSU nine-yard line.
Not able to find their way into the endzone, UAPB would rely on kicker Zack Piwniczka to get them on their board first with a 21-yards field goal to get the Golden Lions a quick (3 – 0) lead, in the first minutes into the game.
Texas Southern would respond with four touchdowns throughout the first half, causing Arkansas-Pine Bluff to enter a scoring drought in the first half and trailing TxSU with a halftime score of (28 – 3).
The Tigers would score a field goal with 12:28 left in the third quarter in which the Golden Lions would react to very well.
The marker being at third-down meant Arkansas-Pine Bluff had to make a huge play to keep the ball alive. Perry connected with his hometown partner, Harrell, for 39-yards to earn a first down at the Texas Southern 15-yard line. Perry instantly knew that he could count on Britten to get the football in the endzone, which led Perry to trust his instinct, allowing Britten to rush for two yards for a touchdown following a Piwniczka field goal, bringing the score to (31 – 10).
"It's all about putting in the work and trusting the process," said Perry about throwing a season-high of 67-percent against Texas Southern.
Perry finished with an outstanding 311-yards, going 25-for-37 for the Golden Lions.
Minutes later, Texas Southern responded to Britten's touchdown with a touchdown of their own to bring the score to (38 – 10). That wouldn't mean that the game was over for Arkansas-Pine Bluff; UAPB would then get risky on their end but was rewarded for the chances taken.
Eating up everything Texas Southern threw at them, the Golden Lions found themselves at second-and-ten at the TxSU 46-yard line looking to create opportunity. Perry would then make the New Orleans connection from downtown with Harrell in the TxSU endzone for 46-yards to bring the score to (38 – 17).
The Golden Lions looked to build off their created opportunity but couldn't do so before the sounding of the final whistle to end the contest with a final score of (59 – 17).
UAPB head coach Doc Gamble was not pleased with their performance against Texas Southern. "We shot ourselves in the foot early and allowed Texas Southern to take advantage early from our mistakes," said Gamble about the challenges presented through the match. "We sit around and wait for somebody to make a play instead of having energy straight from the gate."
The Golden Lions will return to their home turf next week, looking to bounce back against Grambling State next week in the "battle of the black and gold" on Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m.
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