The Prairie View A&M University Panthers got their 2005 season under way with a 39-12 victory over the Paul Quinn Tigers. This game became the season opener for the Panthers after the originally scheduled contest between the Texas Southern Tigers was postponed due to relief efforts for hurricane Katrina victims.In the first quarter at the 9:48 mark, Panther junior fullback Kerry Wilson took a handoff from quarterback Michael Hill and raced 25 yards to give Prairie View its first score. The drive lasted eight plays and spanned 80 yards. With 1:47 left in the first quarter, sophomore running back Arnell Fontenot scampered eight yards to the end zone to give the Panthers a comfortable 14-0 lead. The Panther defense allowed only 25 yards of total offense in the first quarter.
The start of the second quarter saw the Panthers go on another long scoring march, this time a six-play, 78-yard drive that was capped-off by a 29-yard run by Fontenot. For the half, Paul Quinn managed 62 yards of total offense.
With 9:15 left in the third period, Paul Quinn got on the scoreboard with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Carter to Drew Waters, bringing the score to 21-6. Prairie View improved on its score when sophomore quarterback Chris Gibson kept the snap and trotted into the end zone from eight yards out, to put the game at 27-6 with 4:57 remaining in the third period.
With the game getting out of reach, the Paul Quinn duo of Carter and Waters connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 10:35 remaining in the contest, their second of the night. The Panthers also scored two more times when Van Sallier picked off a two-point conversion for a score and sophomore running back Thomas Smith ran in a score from five yards out with 3:59 left to play.
“It was good to get this first victory under our belts and start the season off right. I thought we played real hard, despite all of the penalties,” said head coach Henry Frazier III. “We have to work harder this week in practice to sharpen our execution on both sides of the ball, especially when it comes to penalties.