ETTRICK, Virginia -- Virginia State used a huge 207-yard showing on the ground, including 131 yards from Ri'Jon Hammond, to pick up a 24-20 win against Elizabeth City State Saturday afternoon at home at Rogers Stadium.
The Trojans improved to 4-3 on the year and 2-2 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, while the Vikings fell to 1-6 and 1-4.
Rahsaan Matthews Jr. led Virginia State's passing attack with 253 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception. The signal caller also added 65 yards on the ground.
Hammond totaled 131 yards to lead the Trojans' ground attack and added one touchdown in the game, picking up 6.2 yards per carry along the way.
Jaylen Pretlow reeled in four catches for 105 yards and one score. Kevin Gayles got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in three balls for 67 yards. The Trojans also got 60 yards receiving and one touchdown from Malik Hunter in the contest.
Mark Burns paced the Virginia State defensive effort, recording five tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one interception and Kenny Faison had six tackles in the win.
Virginia State also had an outstanding day offensively, racking up 518 total yards, 207 on the ground and 311 through the air, while averaging 8.2 yards per play and out-gaining Elizabeth City State.
Defensively, Virginia State held up fairly well against the Elizabeth City State passing attack, holding the Vikings to 149 yards through the air.
How It Happened
Virginia State got on the scoreboard first with 9:54 remaining in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.Another Trojans score then expanded the lead to 14-0.
Virginia State continued to extend its lead, scoring again with 3:41 left in the second quarter to go on top 17-0.The Trojans continued to build their lead after Elizabeth City State closed the gap to 17-7, scoring again to go ahead 24-7. Virginia State didn't score again in the game and Elizabeth City State tacked on 13 more points to finish off the scoring.
Game Notes
» Virginia State outgained Elizabeth City State 518-356, including a 311-149 advantage through the air.
» The Trojans scored first with 9:54 remaining in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.
» Virginia State had their highest scoring quarter in the first period, when they put up 14 points.
» Virginia State converted 3 of 10 third downs while Elizabeth City State was successful on 5 of 13.
» The Trojans had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by KJ McNeil, who had nine.
» Virginia State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» Virginia State got off to a great start in the contest, putting 17 unanswered points on the board before Elizabeth City State could respond.
» Matthews Jr. completed 70% of his passes on the day, going 14-for-20 while averaging 12.6 yards per attempt.
» Christopher Perkins led the Vikings passing attack, completing 18 of his 33 attempts for 149 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
» Perkins led the Elizabeth City State rushing attack with 81 yards.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
