NORFOLK, Virginia --Marquis Smith and Ajenavi Byrd each put up over 100 receiving yards Saturday night, but Virginia State fell 34-31 in overtime on the road at Norfolk State.
The Spartans improved to 1-1 on the season while the Trojans dropped to 1-1.
Rahsaan Matthews Jr. led Virginia State's passing attack with 299 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns without throwing an interception.
Brandon Rose led all Trojans rushers with 66 yards in the contest, picking up 5.5 yards per carry. Matthews Jr. also added 22 yards on the ground, as well as one receiving touchdown.
Smith, who had six catches for 105 yards and one touchdown and Ajenavi Byrd, who added four grabs for 101 yards and one touchdown, led the way in the pass-catching department for Virginia State. Malik Hunter also hauled in six passes for 65 yards.
Kj McNeil paced the Virginia State defensive effort, collecting six tackles, 0.5 TFL, and one recovered fumble. Donavan Howard added three pass breakups and one recovered fumble and Mustapha Coly had 1.0 TFL, one sack, and one forced fumble in the loss.
The Trojans won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers while avoiding any giveways, with Virginia State turning those takeaways into six points.
How It Happened
Virginia State took a 3-0 lead over Norfolk State after scoring the game's first points on the opening drive of the game.Norfolk State responded to go ahead 7-3 before the Trojans scored again on a 41-yard touchdown reception from to to retake the lead at 10-7.
After Norfolk State evened the game at 10-16, Virginia State responded with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter with a 14-yard touchdown reception from Hunter to to retake the lead at 23-10.Norfolk State then took control of the lead, building a 24-23 advantage before the Trojans got on the scoreboard again with a 28-yard touchdown pass from to Smith to jump back in front 31-24. Virginia State didn't score again in the game and Norfolk State tacked on 10 more points to finish off the scoring.
Game Notes
» Norfolk State outgained Virginia State 490-440 in the contest.
» Virginia State won the turnover battle 2-0 after recovering two fumbles.
» The Trojans got 100 yard receiving days from Smith and Ajenavi Byrd.
» Virginia State had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up 13 points.
» Virginia State converted 4 of 14 third downs while Norfolk State was successful on 4 of 13.
» Virginia State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» Virginia State allowed just 4.333 yards per punt return on three attempts.
» Virginia State won the time of possession battle 30:24 to 29:25.
» led the Spartans passing attack, completing 13 of his 20 attempts for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
» Kam'Ryn Thomas was Norfolk State's leading receiver with 82 yards.
