ETTRICK, Virginia -- Virginia State fell 31-20 to Johnson C. Smith at home Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Bulls improved to 5-1 on the year and 2-1 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, while the Trojans fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference matchups.
Rahsaan Matthews Jr. led Virginia State's passing attack with 259 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns and one interception. The signal caller also added 86 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
To go along with Matthews Jr.'s showing, Ri'Jon Hammond added to the Trojans' rushing attack by picking up 36 yards in the game.
Jaylen Pretlow reeled in eight catches for 99 yards and two scores. Vincent Ordenes got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in four balls for 85 yards. The Trojans also got 53 yards receiving from Malik Hunter in the contest.
Mark Burns led the Virginia State defensive effort, collecting one interception and two pass breakups. Cameron Davis added 13 tackles, 1.5 TFL, one sack, and one forced fumble and Noel Walker had in the loss.
Both teams forced one turnover in Saturday's contest, with Virginia State turning that takeaway into seven points.
Virginia State's defense held up fairly well against the run, limiting Johnson C. Smith to 130 yards on the ground. Virginia State out-rushed Johnson C. Smith by 33 yards.
How It Happened
After Johnson C. Smith took a 10-0 lead, Virginia State responded with 6:25 left in the second quarter to narrow the margin to 10-7.After Johnson C. Smith scored to extend its lead to 17-7, the Trojans got on the scoreboard again to close the gap and make it a 17-14 game.
After Johnson C. Smith scored to increase its lead to 31-14, Virginia State responded with a touchdown with 14:12 left in the fourth quarter lead to cut the deficit to 31-20. Neither team scored again in the game.
Game Notes
» Virginia State outgained Johnson C. Smith 422-381, including a 163-130 advantage on the ground.
» Virginia State tallied 14 points in the second quarter, accounting for 70% of their total score.
» Virginia State converted 4 of 12 third downs while Johnson C. Smith was successful on 9 of 15.
» The Trojans had three players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Davis, who had 13.
» Kelvin Durham led the Golden Bulls passing attack, completing 18 of his 29 attempts for 251 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
» Bobby Smith led the Johnson C. Smith rushing attack with 96 yards.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
