Grambling State 17, Prairie View A&M 14

September 29, 2007

DALLAS – Senior kicker Tim Manuel nailed a 19-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter as the Grambling State Tigers held off a furious second half charge by Prairie View A&M for a 17-14 victory on Saturday night.

The contest remained scoreless for most of the first half until Grambling State mounted a 12-play, 71-yard drive that had an interesting ending. On the drive, the Tigers drove all the way to Prairie View's three-yard line but came up short after quarterback Larry Kerlegan was stopped at the 3. On fourth-and-goal with the team lined up in field goal formation with one second left, Grambling State gambled and executed a perfect fake field goal that was capped off with a Kovarus Hill shuffle pass to John Carter.

Grambling State took a 14-0 margin at the 7:36 mark in the third quarter when quarterback Brandon Landers found wideout Clyde Edwards in the endzone for a 41-yard score. However, the tide of the game took a complete turn as both teams entered the fourth quarter.

Prairie View A&M backup quarterback Mark Spivey recorded a 38-yard strike to Shaun Stephens to cut their deficit to 14-7 early in the quarter. Grambling State's next drive took a turn for the worse as Landers' pass was intercepted by linebacker Gary Hicks. Hicks returned the interception 24 yards for the score and the upset was in the making as the game was tied at 14 after the PAT.

With the game tied and Prairie View inching towards its first win since 1986 over GSU, the Tigers went into ball control mode and rode the backs of freshmen running backs Cornelius Walker and Frank Warren. The duo, which set-up Manuel's game-winning field goal, combined to lead the Tigers on a 16-play, 76-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock. After the field goal, Prairie View attempted to drive the length of the field for the victory but was forced to settle for a 57-yard field goal attempt by freshman Pedro Ventura. However, PV never got a chance to see their attempt reach the uprights as Nigel Copeland recorded the block to seal the victory.