By T. Scott Boatright
DALLAS — Grambling State University’s football team remained unbeaten in Southwestern Athletic Conference play Saturday as the Tigers roared to a 35-20 win over Prairie View A&M at the Cotton Bowl.
Grambling, now 3-2 overall and 2-0 in SWAC play, led 16-10 at the half thanks to Tanner Rinker field goals of 28, 32 and 48 yards followed by a 12-yard scoring strike from quarterback Myles Crawley to Lyndon Rash with 1:18 remaining in the second quarter.
Crawley and Rash connected again in the third quarter for another score, this time on a six-yarder with 1:08 remaining in the stanza to push GSU’s lead to 22-13.
Prairie View cut that GSU advantage to 22-20 on a 53-yard touchdown run by Connor Wisham with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
But the G-Men pulled away in the final quarter as Williams scored on a four-yard run with 12:50 remaining before Chalk added a three-yard touchdown run 39 seconds before time expired.
It was Grambling’s third straight win after opening the season with losses to Hampton and LSU.
Grambling totaled 450 yards of offense, with Crawley completing 25-of-40 passes for 241 yards and the two touchdowns to Rash.
Riding that offensive surge, the Tigers totaled 26 first downs and converted seven of 18 third-down attempts.
Chalk led the Tigers with 84 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries while Williams added 75 yards and another score on the ground off of 16 attempts.
Javion Robinson led GSU receivers with seven catches 64 yards while Rash hauled in six passes for 68 and his two touchdowns.
Antonio Jones also had a strong day receiving for GSU, totaling six catches for 67 yards.
The G-Men dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for 37:22 compared to 22:38 for the Panthers. They also scored all six times they reached the red zone.
But penalties continued to plague the G-Men, who were flagged 11 times for 70 yards.
Defensively, the Tigers were led by Lewis Matthews with nine tackles while Javon Carter added eight.
GSU linebacker Sundiata Anderson chipped in with five takedowns, including a six-yard sack.
After opening the season with losses to Hampton and LSU, Grambling now has won three straight games, including back-to-back Southwestern Conference contests.
Grambling remains on the road next week as the Tigers play at Alcorn State at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday.
The Braves stand at 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the SWAC after going on the road and defeating Alabama State 23-20 on Saturday.
