DURHAM, North Carolina --Fayetteville State mounted a seven-play, 57-yard drive, culminating in a 30-yard field goal from with 1:47 remaining in the ballgame, as Virginia State lost 31-29 in heartbreaking fashion to the Broncos on Friday night at Durham County Stadium.
The Broncos improved to 8-3 on the season while the Trojans dropped to 7-4.
Javion Whitfied paced the Trojans rushing attack by accumulating 102 yards over the course of the game, averaging 7.8 yards per carry. Whitfied also tacked on 45 receiving yards. Rahsaan Matthews Jr. also added 48 yards on the ground, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
Matthews Jr.'s most prolific target in the ballgame was Jaylen Pretlow, who caught five passes for 55 yards and one score.
Kelvin Melton showed out for the Virginia State defense, totaling three tackles and one recovered fumble. Jamontae Dance-Anderson added one interception and Team had in the loss.
The Trojans won the turnover battle in Friday's game, forcing two turnovers while avoiding any giveways, with Virginia State turning those takeaways into seven points. Virginia State recorded a strong performance on the ground, racking up 217 rushing yards while averaging 6 yards per carry and out-rushing Fayetteville State by eight yards. The Virginia State offense did a good job keeping drives alive, converting on 50 percent of third-down attempts. The Trojans also went 3-for-5 on fourth down.
Defensively, Virginia State held up fairly well against the Fayetteville State passing attack, holding the Broncos to 197 yards through the air.
How It Happened
Virginia State scored first and jumped out to a 14-0 lead with :18 remaining in the first quarter.The Trojans then extended the lead to 21-0 with another score.
Fayetteville State then grabbed a 28-21 lead, but Virginia State scored again at the 4:06 left mark in the fourth quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run from to jump back in front 29-28. Virginia State went scoreless the rest of the game while Fayetteville State tacked on three points to finish off the scoring.
Game Notes
» Fayetteville State outgained Virginia State 406-370 in the contest.
» Virginia State won the turnover battle 2-0 after intercepting one pass and recovering one fumble.
» Virginia State had their highest scoring quarter in the first period, when they put up 14 points.
» Virginia State converted 8 of 16 third downs while Fayetteville State was successful on 9 of 17.
» Raja'ee Jones led the Trojans with 13 tackles.
» Virginia State went 3-for-5 on fourth down, converting on 60 percent of attempts.
» The Trojans collected eight tackles for loss.
» Virginia State got off to a great start in the contest, putting 21 unanswered points on the board before Fayetteville State could respond.
» Jamir Dismukes led the Broncos passing attack, completing 15 of his 29 attempts for 197 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
» Isaiah Silver led the Fayetteville State rushing attack with 92 yards.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
