The Prairie View A&M University (2-5, 0-5 SWAC) Panthers suffered a 58-13 homecoming loss to the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State (5-3, 4-3 SWAC) at Blackshear Field.MVSU blitzed the scoreboard by scoring three touchdowns in a span of nine minutes.
The Delta Devils scored their first two touchdowns on a pair of rushes by Walter Burnette at the 12:29 and 10:48 marks of the first half respectively.
At the end of the first quarter, MVSU was comfortably ahead, 21-0 after adding another score on an Aries Nelson to Kalvin Woods touchdown pass with 11:52 remaining in the first half. Mississippi Valley State added their fourth unanswered score of the night in the second quarter with a two-yard touchdown run by Kalvin Woods to take a 28-0 lead.
With 8:25 left in the half, Prairie View sophomore Paul Johnson intercepted a pass and took it 30 yards for the Panthers’ first score.
The Delta Devils added two more touchdowns and a field goal to take a commanding 44-7 advantage before intermission.
The Panthers’ sole offensive score came in the third quarter when senior receiver Chris Peters caught a 12-yard pass from senior quarterback Michael Hill bringing the score to 44-13.
MVSU put a cap on their scoring onslaught adding two touchdowns. Gary Cooper connected on a 36-yard touchdown pass to Clarence Cotton with 10:36 remaining in the second half. With 3:10 left to play, Cooper had a two-yard run that capped off a seven- play, 80 yard drive. For the game, PVAMU’s Hill was 12-of-23 for 83 yards with one touchdown. Leading the team in receiving was Peters with five catches for 37 yards. Sophomore Arnell Fontenot led the Panthers on the ground with 87 yards on 12 carries.
“We still have four games left on our schedule and I think that we can be very competitive in each and every one of them,” said Panther head coach Henry Frazier. “We have to dig deep within ourselves and play hard each down. As a coach I have to figure out where the mistakes are being made and correct them.