PN Photo/ Willis Glassgow
By Zackari Ciboth, Sports Editor
The UNC Pembroke football team fell short of a comeback attempt Thursday night on the road in the conference opener against the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets. It was back and forth between both sides coming down to the final minutes of the game. This 37-35 loss for UNCP marked the first time that the Braves have lost a conference opener in four seasons and West Virginia State picked up their first ever win over the Black and Gold.
The Braves needed an onside kick to extend the game after they had cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 37-35 after they capitalized on a six-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Pierce to Malik Tobias. With 1:07 to go the Braves attempted to recover the onside kick but it went unsuccessful as the Yellow Jackets jumped on it to hand the Braves their first loss of the season.
The Braves got things going in the first quarter when LaTrell Jewsome intercepted the ball off a tipped pass and returned it 41 yards for the pick six to put the Braves up 7-0 early. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 20-yard field goal to make it 7-3 but the Braves extended their lead on a four-yard touchdown run by Antonio Crim to go up 14-3 to end the first quarter.
The Yellow Jackets cut the Braves lead in half on a two-yard touchdown pass from Donovan Riddick to Joe Jones and then took the lead on a 36-yard touchdown pass on another Riddick to Jones connection with 6:27 remaining in the first half. The Braves regained the lead right before the half on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Trey Dixon. The Braves led 21-17 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets started the second half taking the lead right back on a 28-yard touchdown run by Joel Felder. Then West Virginia State extended its lead with 5:24 remaining in the third on a Brennen Schmitt 26-yard field goal.
The fourth lead change of the night happened with 1:47 to go in the third quarter when Pierce ran it in from one yard out to give the Braves the lead back 28-27.
The Yellow Jackets took a 30-28 lead with 10:52 remaining in the game on a 30-yard field goal by Schmitt and extended the lead with less than five minutes remaining on a one-yard touchdown throw to Nate Baker making it 37-28 all leading it up to the Braves attempted to make a comeback.
Pierce finished the night with 12-for-23 pass completions for 165 yards and rushed for 22 yards. Crim rushed for 94 yards on 16 attempts and recorded a rushing touchdown. Dixon caught four passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball Sean Hill and Saige Ley each had 11 tackles on the night.
The Braves (1-1,0-1 MEC) will be back in action at home next Saturday when they welcome Charleston (2-0, 1-0 MEC). Kickoff is set for noon.