By T. Scott Boatright
After two straight games of second-half struggles, Grambling State finally put together a strong final 30 minutes during Saturday’s State Fair Classic against Prairie View A&M at the Cotton Bowl.
This time it was first-half woes that cost the Tigers.
Prairie View roared out to a big first-half lead that fueled a 34-14 win over Grambling before a crowd of 53,971.
The Panthers used a methodical offensive attack, taking a 7-0 lead at the 4:31 mark of the opening stanza and building a 27-0 advantage by halftime.
After forcing a Grambling punt, Prairie View marched 80 yards on 16 plays with running back Ja’den Stewart scoring on a 2-yard run that put the Panthers on top 7-0.
The Panthers continued lighting up the scoreboard in the second quarter, with field goals of 26 and 37 yards by Luis Reyes and a 35-yard scoring scamper stretching Prairie View’s lead to 20-0 with 1:45 remaining in the first half.
But Prairie View wasn’t done, as linebacker Xavier Watson snatched up a ball he had stripped from a ball carrier and raced 40 yards untouched to paydirt to put Prairie View on up 27-0 at intermission.
Grambling didn’t score until the 4:42 mark of the second quarter when Julian Calvez, who had come in to replace starting quarterback Quaterius Hawkins, scored on a five-yard run.
Calvez was back at it on Grambling’s next possession, which started at the Prairie View 30-yard line thanks to a fumble recovery.
Seven plays later Noah Bean, who led GSU with four catches for 33 yards, hauled in a five-yard scoring reception with 1:22 left in the third quarter to cut Prairie View’s lead to 27-14.
Prairie View’s last score came when a punt hit a Grambling State defender and was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
Grambling drove to the Prairie View 20 before turning the ball over on downs with 4:25 remaining, and the Panthers’ offense chewed up the rest of the clock to seal the win.
Hawkins hit on five-of-nine passes for 39 yards while Calvez connected on five-of-13 attempts for 82 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Floyd Chalk led Grambling’s run game with 47 yards on four carries while Chance Williams added 36 yards on nine rushes.
Lewis Matthews, who ranks second nationally in solo tackles, topped the Tigers, racking up 17 total takedowns, including three solo stops, while Joshua Reed added 10 tackles (five solos).
GSU (1-4 overall, 0-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) returns to SWAC action next weekend as the Tigers play at Alabama A&M (1-4, 1-1 SWAC).
