Charlotte, NC (September 22, 2018) – The Virginia State University football team secured a 43-14 victory on the road over the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University at Irwin Belk Complex this afternoon. With the victory the Trojans secures its first win of the 2018 season and improves to (1-2) overall, while the Golden Bulls moves to (0-3) overall.  

The Trojans secured an early 8-0 lead in the first quarter on a 40 yard run by freshman Andre Jackson (Hampton, Virginia) and a team safety to close out the first quarter. An impressive defensive performance held the Golden Bulls scoreless in the first quarter.

The Trojans dominated the game in the second quarter when Cordelral Cook connected with Tre'Quan Reed (Newport News, Virginia) for a 16 yard pass to record another touchdown and a two point conversion for the Trojans at 5:39 mark. To close out the first half the VSU secured another touchdown on a 10 yard run by Cook. Going into halftime, the Trojans were ahead of the Golden Bulls 22-0.

Bringing the same momentum from the first half, the Trojans continued to secure points by adding three touchdowns in the third quarter. Cordelral Cook completed a four yard pass to senior Joshua Harris (King William, Virginia) at the 13:11 mark brought the score 29-0. The Trojans then added another touchdown then Cook connected with Andre Jackson for a two yard pass at the 8:59 to increase its lead 36-0. JCSU added its first touchdown of the game at the 6:09 mark on a two yard run by Jachin Watkins. VSU added its final touchdown of the quarter at the 00:19 seconds on a two yard run by Dazmine Palmer (Norfolk, Virginia) making the score 43-6 heading into the final quarter.
The final touchdown of the game happened at 00:40 when Harold Herbin connected with Desmond Dozier for a 25 yard pass to end the contest with a score of 43-14. 

Offensively, VSU was led by Cordelral Cook, throwing for 191 yards, completing 17-of-29 passes and three touchdowns to lead the Virginia State offense. Senior Tre'Quan Reed completed the contest with a total of 80 total yards and three receiving yards along with one touchdown.  Jesus Valenzulea (Hampton, Virginia) recorded 203 total punting yards for the game. Freshman Andre Jackson led VSU in kick returns adding a total of 76 yards.

Defensively, sophomore Kwabe Boateng (Woodbridge, Virginia) led the Trojans, recording a total of 3.5 total tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss. Patrick Prosser also contributed 3.5 total tackles and one tackle for loss. Rashard Jones and Dhevyn Anderson both added three tackles each for the Trojans. VSU outlasted the Golden Bulls in passing yards, securing 306 to the JCSU 158.

Next up, the Trojans will open its 2018 home opener on September 29, 2018. They will host the Bears of Shaw University, with kickoff slated for 6 pm.

For the most up-to-date information on VSU Football please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.