Behind Byers three touchdown runs, Virginia Union runs past Morehouse

 Behind Byers three touchdown runs, Virginia Union runs past Morehouse 

By Keno Sultan

C-Town Radio announcer and statistician

CANTON--The Black College Hall of Fame Game is in it's fourth year of competition.

Virginia Union running back Jada Byers turned the annual showcase into his own personal party.

Powered by three touchdown runs by Byers along with an attacking defense that was relentless throughout the afternoon, the Panthers continued their winning ways into the 2023 season with a 45-13 demolition of Morehouse College in the season opener for both teams.

Morehouse hoped to commence their season with a much better result than last season's anemic one-win season. It was pretty lucid from the Panthers first series that it was not going to be their afternoon when Byers wiggled free of several futile tackle attempts and ventured into the Maroon Tigers secondary and a 29-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play drive that took 5:08 off the clock. Byers touchdown set the tone for the afternoon bringing a fecund amount of energy to the Virginia Union sideline, an energy Morehouse barely failed to match.

"There was no doubt about it. That opening drive was a statement drive so I was happy to see that. That was our first drive of the season and to get a touchdown out of it, that says a lot," Panthers mentor Alvin Parker said. "Jada's like the engine to our car, so we were happy about that."

"I'm the type of running back that only needs four yards a carry. Four times three is 12 and that's a first down everytime. And I'm good with four yards a carry," Byers added.

Defensively, Virginia Union never let Morehouse breathe. The Maroon Tigers only gained 230 yards of offense to 440 from the Panthers and only mustered one offensive touchdown all contest, a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jaylon West to Brogan Korta when the game was well out of reach in the fourth quarter. Their troubles were also magnified when linebacker Jabrill Norman intercepted a Derrach West pass and returned it 68 yards for a two-touchdown advantage midway through the second quarter.

The Maroon Tigers did have a pulse when Del Olawumi Jr. blocked a Panthers punt in the third quarter and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown to slice their deficit to 14-7. After forcing a Virginia Union three-and-out, Morehouse was threatening to add more pressure to the Panthers a possession later. But a fourth down pass to the end zone was well defended and rendered incomplete, effectively quashing any legitimate chance of them getting back into the contest.

First-year Maroon Tigers head coach Gerard Wilcher, like his Virginia Union counterpart, Parker, an alumnus of his alma mater assumed responsibility for the setback and vowed his team would get better. When asked if things spiraled downhill after the Panthers opening touchdown drive, Wilcher said that had nothing to do with it.

"I don't look at it like that. He's (Byers) a great player. The game is four quarters and 60 minutes," he said. "You have to understand that we blocked a punt and got to withing 14-7 and we're back in the game. We got playmakers we have to get the ball to and we'll do that."

Byers rushed for 149 yards on the afternoon on 24 carries and added on scoring runs of 24 and one yard respectively on his way to being the MVP of the contest. Panthers quarterback Christian Reid completed 11 passes out of 15 attempted for an adequate 153 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter, part of a 24-point barrage for Virginia Union.

"I'm proud of these guys, they did a great job. In preparing for this, everyone was talking about this in camp, so we were ecstatic to be here and to come here and represent our university the way we did," Parker said.

The Black College Hall of Fame Game is in it's fourth year of competition. For Virginia Union, it was a party not just for Byers, but the entire Panthers squad.

Keno Sultan can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.