DURHAM, North Carolina --Seven different players scored touchdowns, led by three scores from Brandon Rose, as Virginia State rolled past Shaw 76-13 on Saturday afternoon at Durham County Memorial Stadium.
The Trojans improved to 7-1 on the year and 6-0 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, while the Bears fell to 4-4 and 2-4.
Rahsaan Matthews Jr. led Virginia State's passing attack with 305 yards through the air, tossing five touchdowns without throwing an interception. The signal caller also added 33 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Tj Mordecai led all Trojans rushers with 62 yards in the contest, picking up 5.6 yards per carry. Mordecai also added 43 receiving yards and one touchdown. Rose also added 50 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, averaging 10 yards per carry.
Matthews Jr.'s most prolific target in the ballgame was Armon Fields, who caught two passes for 94 yards and one score. Jaylen Pretlow got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in five balls for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Tristan Mccall paced the Virginia State defensive effort, collecting three tackles and one recovered fumble. Rose added one recovered fumble and Mustapha Coly had 1.0 TFL, one sack, and one forced fumble in the win.
The Trojans won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers while avoiding any giveways. Virginia State also had an outstanding day offensively, racking up 598 total yards, 262 on the ground and 336 through the air, while averaging 10.3 yards per play and out-gaining Shaw. The Virginia State offense did a good job extending drives, converting on 70 percent of third-down attempts. The Trojans also went 2-for-2 on fourth down.
Defensively, Virginia State held up fairly well against the Shaw offensive attack, holding the Bears to 280 total yards. The Trojans defense took up residence in Shaw's backfield all game, piling up six sacks and nine total tackles for loss.
Virginia State's offense made the most of its visits to the red zone, scoring on six of its six trips, with all of those scores being touchdowns.
How It HappenedKEY MOMENTS
Virginia State put points on the board on 10 different occasions on their way to scoring 76 points. The Trojans took the lead for good with 14:06 remaining in the second quarter, opening up a 14-7 advantage on the Bears. found on an eight-yard touchdown catch to finish off an eight-play, 81-yard drive. The Trojans then rode that lead to victory, increasing their advantage by 56 points along the way.
Game Notes» Virginia State had two players reach the promised land multiple times, as Rose scored three touchdowns and Pretlow added another three.
» Virginia State outgained Shaw 598-280, including a 336-161 advantage through the air.
» Virginia State won the turnover battle 2-0 after recovering two fumbles.
» Virginia State had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up 35 points.
» Virginia State converted 7 of 10 third downs while Shaw was successful on 5 of 16.
» Virginia State scored five touchdowns in the second quarter.
» Virginia State went 2-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts.
» Virginia State scored on an 85 yard strike from to .
» Virginia State allowed just six points in three Shaw trips to the red zone.
» Virginia State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» The Trojans didn't allow a sack in the contest.
» The Trojans ended the game on a high note, scoring 21 unanswered points to close out the contest.
» Rahsaan Matthews Jr. completed 73.9% of his passes on the day, going 17-for-23 while averaging 13.3 yards per attempt.
» Alexander Marsh led the Bears passing attack, completing 10 of his 21 attempts for 161 yards and one touchdown.
» Trey Thorpe led the Shaw rushing attack with 67 yards.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
