Panther football quiets critics by shining in Nacogdoches

Going into a game with their backs against the wall, and the rain falling, Prairie View A&M Panthers quieted the critics as they defeated Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 56-48.
 "The way we started out I never would have thought it would finish like that," head coach Heishma Northern said of his team.
 No one would have predicted that the Panthers would go into Lumberjacks territory and dominate on the field like they did.
From the moment they ran onto the field you could tell that they was not leaving without a fight. The game started with the Lumberjacks jumping ahead 14-0 in less than four minutes. But the momentum quickly shifted to the Panthers following a forced fumble.
Quarterback Jerry Lovelocke connected with wide receiver Gabe Dunlap for a 13-yard touchdown, narrowing the lead to 14-7. The Lumberjacks fumbled once again, giving the ball right back to the Panthers in their territory.
Lovelocke hit wide receiver Patrick Gant, giving him one of his two touchdowns on the day to knot the score up at 14. The Panthers forced the Lumberjacks into a three and out and capitalized on their next possession as Lovelocke rushed in from four yards out giving the Panthers a 21-14 lead to end the first quarter.
"I took what they [defense] gave me and I stuck with the read and my offensive line helped me out," said Lovelocke, who accounted for seven touchdowns total.
To start the second quarter the Panthers marched down the field and Lovelocke threw one of his four touchdowns to wide receiver Deandre Cooper, giving them their first lead of the game 28-14 following the extra point from kicker Chris Barrick. The Panthers failed to capitalize on a forced fumble by Raheem Caldwell as Lovelocke gave the ball right back by throwing an interception to Lumberjacks Destin Mosley. The Lumberjacks scored off the turnover, cutting the lead to 28-21 with 5:25 left in the half.
After an intentional grounding call, the Panthers were forced to punt the ball. The Lumberjacks scored on their next two possessions, giving them a 31-28 lead with 1:22 left. As time expired Gant caught his second touchdown of the day, giving the Panthers a 35-31 lead to close out the first half.
After halftime, the Panthers seemed to not lose any of their momentum. Rushing in from three yards out, Lovelocke gave the Panthers an 11-point lead that they would never look back from.
After scoring a field goal the Lumberjacks cut the lead down 42-34, but the Panthers stormed back scoring another touchdown from Lovelocke. As the third quarter ended, Panther fans who braced the rain hoped that this momentum carried over into the final quarter of the game.
Midway through the fourth quarter the Panthers gave up a 76-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brady Attaway, who had 662 passing yards, to Aaron Thomas narrowing the lead down to eight points.
With a punt from Travis Jatzlau, cornerback Foster Brown forced another fumble, setting up the next score from the Panthers as running back Courtney Brown took it in from 41-yards out extending the lead to 56-41 with 3:40 left in the game.
Panther fans began to worry when the Lumberjacks scored on their following possession, narrowing the lead to 56-48. The Panthers failed to run out the clock, giving the Lumberjacks one last chance.
The defense came up with a huge stop as time expired giving the Panthers their first win against a Southland Conference team since 1985.
When asked about how the turnovers helped save the game, Caldwell said,
"Due to the fact that we gave up 800 total yards, forcing the turnovers helped us out to get the win."
The Panthers will be traveling to Dallas for the annual State Fair Classic on Saturday Oct. 5. Kickoff will be earlier than usual at 4:30 p.m.