The not-ready-for-primetime Winston-Salem State Rams were no match for the two-time defending CIAA champion Virginia Union Panthers.
The 19th-ranked Panthers flexed their muscles early and often in a 44-33 win over the Rams in front of around 4,200 on Bill Hayes Field at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the CIAA and the Rams fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league play. The loss for the Rams hurts their chances in a big way of reaching the CIAA championship game next month.
The Rams had no answer for Curtis Allen, the top running back in the CIAA, who scored four touchdowns and ran over and through the Rams’ defense. When Allen scored his fourth touchdown early in the third quarter it put the Panthers up 37-21.
Allen, who runs a lot like Richard Huntley use to during his time at WSSU, had 249 yards on 34 carries as the Rams struggled to bring him down. At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds who is from Petersburg, Va., Allen was all over the field.
Through three quarters the Panthers had amassed nearly 500 yards of offense.
The Rams got the ball to open the second half and finally got its running game going when running back JaQuan Kelly went 64 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 30-21.
The Rams cut the big Panthers’ lead to 30-14 late in the half when Daylin Lee hit Jahari Mitchell for the second time for a touchdown. Mitchell also caught a 36-yard touchdown pass earlier in the half.
Allen scored from four yards out for the Panthers to score his third touchdown of the game and give them a 23-0 lead with 7:50 left in the first half.
Later in the half the Panthers scored again when quarterback RJ Rosales hit fullback Jaehlan Joyner with a short pass and he did the rest from 19 yards out. With two WSSU defenders all over him Joyner bulled his way into the end zone from 5 yards out and a 30-7 lead.
The Panthers got that lead by scoring on three of four possessions as they dominated the line of scrimmage.
It went bad for the Rams on their second possession of the game and were already down 14-0. Center Austin Pittman’s bad snap to quarterback Lee tumbled out of the end zone for a safety as the Panthers grabbed a 16-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Panthers wasted little time grabbing a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game as Allen scored from 5 yards out. The Panthers needed just eight plays to score using their vaunted running game.
On their next possession the Panthers scored again on a 23-yard run by Allen, who broke two tackles around the left side to make it 14-0 with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Panthers rolled up 188 yards of offense in the first quarter and the Rams had just six yards.
Tempers were short three hours before the game as a couple of WSSU and Virginia Union players got into a shoving match near the locker rooms. Two hours before the game at midfield a couple of Virginia Union players trampled on the logo and three WSSU players defended that and had to be separated.
Midway through the third quarter Jaylyn Norris of the Rams was ejected along with Adrian Crespin of the Panthers for having a wrestling match after the play. Both players were escorted to their respective locker rooms
Noteworthy
Massey is in his sixth season combined from when he was the interim head coach to permanent head coach. Massey is a combined 24-30 at WSSU in six seasons. In the CIAA he was 17-17 after Saturday’s loss….
Since the CIAA started playing football in 1912, the Virginia Union Panthers have won 11 CIAA titles including the last two and the Rams have won 12 CIAA titles. The Rams’ last title, however, was in 2016….
Virginia Union leads the overall series at 25-22-1 against WSSU. Before Saturday’s game the Panthers had won three in a row in 2018, ’19 and last season….
Bill and Carolyn Hayes Foundation presented a check for $25,000 from the annual golf tournament that’s held at Maple Chase Golf & Country Club. Bill, the legendary former football coach and athletics director at WSSU, presented the check on the field that’s named for him at halftime….
Quarterback Daylin Lee became the second-leading passer in school history as he went over 4,800 yards for his career. The junior is second behind leader Kam Smith, who passed for 7,540 yards in three seasons (2010-2012).
Next games
WSSU will travel to Shaw on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the game being played at Durham County Stadium. That’s also the site of this year’s CIAA championship game which is scheduled for Nov. 15.
Virginia Union will play at Elizabeth City State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Va. Union 16 14 14 0 – 44
WSSU 0 14 7 13 – 34
V – Curtis Allen 5 run (Brady Myers kick)
V – Allen 24 run (Myers kick)
V – Safety on a bad snap as ball rolls out end zone
V – Allen 4 run (Myers kick)
W – Jahari Mitchell 36 pass from Daylin Lee (A. Gomez-Corona kick)
V – Jaehlan Joyner 19 pass from RJ Rosales (Myers kick)
W – Mitchell 19 pass from Lee (Corona kick)
W – JaQuan Kelly 64 run (Corona kick)
V – Allen 42 run (Myers kick)
V – RJ Rosales 1 run (Myers kick)
W – Lee 1 run (Pass failed)
W – Mitchell 27 pass from Lee (Carona kick)
A – 4,200
jdell@wsjournal.com
336-727-4081
@johndellWSJ
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