No lead was safe until the end of the game, but the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff won a mad dash to the finish in Saturday’s season opener against Lane College.
Kayvon Britten ran for 237 yards and three touchdowns, converted defensive back Raequan Prince caught two touchdown passes, and host UAPB beat the Division II team from Jackson, Tenn., 48-42 at Simmons Bank Field at Golden Lion Stadium.
Britten became the first UAPB player to rush for 200 or more yards since Ivory Lee Brown went for 223 yards against Missouri Western State University in 1990. Saturday’s performance was the second-best all time by a Golden Lion rusher in a single game; Charles “Monk” Williams went for 292 yards against Prairie View A&M University in 1967.
“I feel great. Shout out to my o-line,” Britten said, adding he trusted the blocks the offensive line gave him. “I’ve been watching film all week, and when game time comes, just executing them.”
His 40-yard carry to the Lane 1 in the final minute of the game broke a momentary tie with Taeyler Porter’s 197-yard mark against Texas Southern University in 2019 for the most by a Golden Lion in UAPB’s Division I era (since 1997). He also finished the game with four receptions for 60 yards.
“That’s good. That’s what’s expected of him, every time,” Lions Coach Doc Gamble said, upon learning of Britten’s career high. “Roll until the wheels fall of him, but we have some other guys who can spell him. He played more because he practiced better than everyone else.”
It was the second year in a row the Golden Lions (1-0) hosted the Dragons (0-1) to open the season, but this meeting was more back-and-forth than the previous, when UAPB scored a wire-to-wire 34-16 victory. The Dragons, who went 6-4 last year, were hoping to score a statement win for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and just their third win in 27 all-time meetings with the Lions.
“I thought we would have enough cushion in the end, but then we started shooting ourselves in the foot,” Gamble said. “There was poor play at times. I was not real happy with how we played, but finishing off with a win is always good.”
Prince hauled in five receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns. He caught a 4-yard pass with 31 seconds left before halftime to put UAPB ahead 27-21, the third lead change of the game.
That lead would stick, thanks in no small part to Californian Maurice Lloyd’s 85-yard kickoff return to open the second half.
“I called it before halftime,” Lloyd said. “I said I was going to take it to the crib and let everybody know. I came out and watched it set up perfectly. I game-planned it all week. I knew what hole I had to it, and I hit it.”
Britten had rushed for two touchdowns and 168 yards on 16 first-half carries, one of them going for 55 yards and leading to the first of two field goals by Alcorn State University transfer Cristofer Thompson.
Lane struck on the game’s first possession against UAPB’s inexperienced secondary as Jacquez Jones went 70 yards on a long catch-and-run from Michael Huntley. That was just on the game’s third play from scrimmage.
The lead barely lasted 3 minutes. UAPB covered 65 yards in 9 plays, with Britten rushing on 5 of those and catching a pass out of the backfield for 15 yards.
UAPB was in front 17-7 after Thompson’s first field goal, but Ike Brown, who had 88 yards on 22 attempts, willed Lane back into the lead with a short touchdown run and 30-yard pass reception from Huntley.
Thompson sliced a 21-yard field goal through the uprights to pull UAPB within 21-20 with 5:08 left before halftime.
MORE STATS
UAPB quarterback Skyler Perry completed 16 of 27 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked once.
Gamble said Perry took a shot to the facemask in the third quarter, prompting him to go with sophomore backup Jalen Macon, who completed 3 of 5 passes for 45 yards.
“I’m OK, for the most part,” Perry said. “It’s part of the game. Big ups to my o-line, the TMC [The Moving Crew, as the offensive line is nicknamed].”
UAPB’s Chrysten Cochren caught 4 passes for 62 yards. Lloyd had 3 catches for 35 yards.
Lane’s Huntley completed 15 of 21 passes for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns. Earle High School graduate O’Joshua Bunton hauled in 5 of those passes for 110 yards, and Jones had 4 receptions for 106 yards.
THE GAME CHANGED WHEN …
Lloyd made his long kickoff return for a touchdown.
But then, the Dragons counted on plays like Brown’s 26-yard run and Kylan Duhe’s 40-yard reception to set up a 1-yard scoring skip for Brown.
Britten registered his third touchdown of the evening from 6 yards out on the very next series, giving UAPB a 41-28 lead. The Lions’ defense made a big goal-line stand after stopping Brown on four straight runs inside the Dragons’ 5, but three plays later Perry fumbled away to Jeffrey Johnson, who returned it 4 yards to pull Lane within 41-35.
Prince upped the lead to 48-35 on a 31-yard catch with 4:37 left in the third, but Lane drew within 48-42 with 12:53 left in the game on Huntley’s 49-yard strike to Bunton. With that score, Lane capitalized on a 37-yard interception return by Flakewood Tucker off Perry.
Lane had another chance at the lead after Thompson missed a 31-yard field goal with 5:01 remaining. The Dragons moved 38 yards to the Lions’ 42 before a false start penalty and 13-yard sack by JaVonn Gray stifled them.
THE GAME BALL GOES TO …
Britten for becoming just the third Golden Lion to rush for 200 or more yards in a single game.
NEXT UP …
UAPB remains at home to host North American University at 6 p.m. next Saturday. Lane will host Benedict College of South Carolina at 2 p.m. next Saturday.