Sports

GOLDEN LIONS CAN’T KEEP UP WITH PRAIRIE VIEW

By The Commercial Staff
Saturday, November 21, 2009 11:44 PM CST

Arkansas-Pine Bluff entered its game against Prairie View A&M on Saturday without the possibility of advancing to next month’s Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game, but with the hope of knocking off the only team yet to lose a SWAC game.

After giving up two touchdowns in the first quarter on Saturday at Blackshear Stadium in Prairie View, Texas, the Golden Lions pulled within four points late in the second quarter. The Panthers, however, added a touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter that started a string of four unanswered touchdowns to put the game away.

The Panthers’ three second-half scores were all on plays longer than 30 yards as they blew out UAPB 49-17 on Saturday.

The Golden Lions (5-4, 3-3) will finish their season next Saturday against Texas Southern in Dallas, while Prairie View (8-1, 7-0) will play Alabama A&M in the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 12 in Birmingham, Ala.

The Golden Lions couldn’t have advanced to the conference title game with a win Saturday, but they could have ended a progress-making season on a three-game winning streak.

That possibility went away when its usually stingy defense had its second sub-par outing in as many games.

After giving up 462 yards in a 49-42 win over Grambling State Nov. 7 the Golden Lions, possessing the top defensive unit in the conference for part of the season, allowed 584 total yards of offense, a season high.

Prairie View quarterback K.J. Black didn’t throw an incompletion until the third quarter and connected on his first 17 attempts. Black, a Western Kentucky transfer who has emerged as a SWAC Newcomer of the Year candidate, finished 23 of 27 for 312 yards with five touchdowns and an interception.

After a Carlos Reyes field goal gave UAPB a 3-0 advantage six minutes into the game, Black’s 41-yard pass to Shaun Stephens on the next possession gave Prairie View a lead it never gave up. He connected with Gabriel Osaze-Ediae less than five minutes later to take a 14-3 lead after the first quarter.

The Golden Lions, who have shown flashes of an improving offense the last three weeks, tried to stay in the game in the second quarter. Quarterback Josh Boudreaux connected with Ledarius Eckwood for a 56-yard score, the freshman’s first career touchdown reception.

Later, after Black again connected with Osaze-Ediae to make it 21-10, Boudreaux scored on a 1-yard sneak to cap a seven-play drive that was set up by a 30-yard kickoff return by Mareo Howard to get within 21-17 with 3:32 left in the second quarter.

Black, though, completed six straight passes on the following drive, and Donald Babers capped the march with a 1-yard run to go into halftime up 28-17.

Prairie View added to the lead in the third quarter with a third touchdown pass from Black to Osaze-Ediae, a 76-yard burst from Babers and a second scoring pass from Black to Stephens.

Boudreaux finished 15-of-30 for 223 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Mickey Dean led the Golden Lions with 68 yards rushing on 16 carries and Raymond Webber caught four passes for 69 yards.

Jamel Maxwell returned his first career interception 40 yards in the fourth quarter, but that was one of the few highlights for a UAPB defense that has regressed as the season reaches its end.

Babers finished with 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Stephens caught six passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Osaze-Ediae caught four passes for 66 yards.

It was the first time since 2002 that the Golden Lions have allowed at least 40 points in back-to-back games, when they did so during a four-game stretch and five times total during the season.

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 49, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 17

UAPB 3 14 0 0 — 17

PVAM 14 14 7 14 — 49

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

PB — Reyes 45 field goal, 9:06

PV — Stephens 41 pass from Black (Faggard kick), 7:46

PV — Osaze-Ediae 21 pass from Black (Faggard kick), 3:03

SECOND QUARTER

PB — Eckwood 56 pass from Boudreaux (Reyes kick), 10:59

PV — Osaze-Ediae 5 pass from Black (Faggard kick), 7:47

PB — Boudreaux 1 run (Reyes kick), 3:32

PV — Babers 1 run (Faggard kick), 0:11

THIRD QUARTER

PV — Osaze-Ediae 33 pass from Black (Faggard kick), 4:24

FOURTH QUARTER

PV — Babers 76 run (Faggard kick), 12:33

PV — Stephens 31 pass (Faggard kick), 6:24

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: PV, Babers 12-133, Harris 9-61, Black 4-27, Weeden 2-13, Bluford 2-9, Butler 1-6, Jason 3-6; PB, Dean 16-68, Boudreaux 5-5.

PASSING: PV, Black 23-27-312-1, Bluford 1-2-29-0, Nwokobia 0-1-0-0; PB, Boudreaux 15-30-223-1, Dean 0-1-0-1.

RECEIVING: PV, Stephens 6-110, Osaze-Ediae 4-66, Bell 4-34, Benson 2-47, Nwokobia 2-30, Babers 2-23, Weeden 2-13, Allen 1-15, Harris 1-3; PB, Webber 4-69, Farr 3-44, Dean 3-14, Evans 2-32, Eckwood 1-56, Gay 1-13, Winters 1-(-5).

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