A beautiful blue sky, a soothing breeze, and not a drop of rain in sight, are words that describe the weather at the Angel City Classic, held Sept. 8 in the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Calif. This would be a first for Prairie View, as the football team headed to Los Angeles to battle North Carolina A&T State University.
The opponent, a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, finished off last season with a 0-11 record. Prairie View, just coming off a Labor Day Classic win, was anxious to put another win in its column.
The Panthers chose to kick the ball off to the A&T Bulldogs, giving North Carolina first possession. All was quiet throughout the first quarter for the teams, a missed field goal for North Carolina, and a lost fumble in North Carolina territory for Prairie View.
The second quarter was the start of something good for Prairie View. Riante Jones blocked two North Carolina punts, and both were returned for a touchdown by Val Ford, with one field goal. Faggard missed one PAT that kept North Carolina in striking distance.
During halftime the Marching Storm brought some southern hospitality to the audience of 32,278. The Marching Storm marched off the field to a standing ovation from the Los Angeles crowd.
In the very first play of the third quarter, quarterback Chris Gibson threw an interception which gave North Carolina immediate possession. When the third quarter came to a close, Gibson engineered a drive that gave the Panthers a 20-point lead going into the fourth quarter with his nine-yard rushing touchdown.
As the game was winding down, North Carolina caught Prairie View dozing off, and took advantage with a 32-yard touchdown pass.
The key to sealing the game for Prairie View was the 52-yard punt by Pedro Ventura that put the ball on the North Carolina one-yard line. On the third play of North Carolina’s drive, Val Ford would record the safety for the Panthers, and seal the game. The final score was 22-7 in Prairie View’s favor.
Offensive standouts were Chris Gibson with 145 passing yards, Calvin Harris with 64 rushing yards, Anthony Weeden with six catches for 61 yards, and Joe Townsend with five catches for 61 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball were Gary Hicks with 12 tackles, Chris Adingupu with eight tackles, and Marquis Johnson with a sack.
The Panthers will look to strengthen their toughness, and level of play against conference rival Southern.
The game will be played in Baton Rouge, La., September 15, at 6 p.m.