Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field

My visit to Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field came on October 8, 2016, for Prairie View A&M’s homecoming game against Alabama State. The Panthers were in their first season in the new stadium, and homecoming brought out a sold-out crowd. My tickets were complimentary from PVAMU Athletics.

Alabama State controlled the first half and took a 17-7 lead into halftime. Prairie View lost starting quarterback Trey Green to an injury in the second quarter, and redshirt freshman Jalen Morton came in to replace him.

Morton turned the game around. The Prairie View defense held Alabama State to 68 total yards after halftime, and Morton led three second-half scoring drives. The biggest came at the end. Prairie View got the ball back with 2:31 left and drove the length of the field, with Morton completing four passes for 67 yards. Owen Hoolihan kicked a 37-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to tie the game 17-17 and send it to overtime.

In overtime, Morton kept the drive alive with a 9-yard scramble on third-and-9. Caleb Broach then fumbled at the goal line, recovered his own fumble and scored, giving Prairie View its first lead of the day. Alabama State got its chance, but Treveon Billings sacked the quarterback on the final play, and the Panthers won 24-17 in front of a homecoming crowd of 15,050.

Demarquo Lastrappe led Prairie View with six catches for 102 yards, his first career 100-yard receiving game. The win moved the Panthers to 4-2 overall and 4-1 in the SWAC.