Early kickoff return TD sets tone as Prairie View A&M routs rival Texas Southern

PRAIRIE VIEW - Last year's Labor Day Classic was not decided until the final play. On Sunday at Panther Stadium, Prairie View's Jahbari Kuykendall returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, setting off a range of emotions from both teams and their fan bases.

That is the Texas Southern-Prairie View A&M rivalry in a nutshell. Exciting games are the norm. From start to finish.

Prairie View won last year's matchup on a walk-off touchdown. Sunday's game was not as close. And again, the outcome favored the Panthers.

The Panthers came out firing and did not let up in routing TSU 52-14 in a game that was nationally televised on ESPN2.

After leading 17-7 at halftime, Prairie View (1-1) outscored TSU 28-0 in the third quarter.

Quarterback Tevin Carter passed for four scores - two to Travon Jones - and ran for another in directing the Panthers' offense under second-year coach Tremaine Jackson.

An hour after kickoff,  the game was stopped at noon due to lightning in the area. After a 57-minute delay, the game resumed with the Panthers holding a 17-0 advantage with 12:35 left before the half.

A junior from Westside, Kuykendall got the SWAC game off to an electric beginning. Kuykendall caught the ball in the middle of the field at his 10-yard line. He immediately veered to his left and followed a wall of blockers into the end zone.

On PV's first offensive possession, Carter connected with Damien McDaniel on a 24-yard scoring pass. Less than five minutes in, the Panthers  were ahead 14-0.

Ethan Eddings' 37-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining in the opening quarter pushed the Panthers' lead to 17-0.

In the third quarter, the Panthers blew the game open. Carter threw scoring strikes of 54 yards to Chase Bingmon coming out of the backfield, and 39 yards to a wide-open Jones, putting PV up 38-7.

Linebacker Tyler Morehead came up with a big fumble recovery deep in PV territory late in the first half for the Panthers, who were clinging to a 10-point advantage.

Defensive end Dorian Gates also recovered a fumble for the Panthers, who opened their season last week in a tough 49-30 loss at Tarleton State.

Special teams provided another bright spot for the Panthers. Corey Thompson Jr. and Rondell Carter were outstanding on kickoff return coverage.

Quarterback Cam'Ron McCoy scored on a 17-yard run for TSU (1-1), which got 85 rushing yards from Athean Renfro Jr.

McCoy, who did not complete his first pass until midway of the second quarter, displayed his running ability with a long run of 35 yards.

Texas Southern holds a 45-36-1 advantage in the series, but Prairie View has won 19 of the past 23 matchups.

The Panthers won last year's meeting 22-21, scoring on a 17-yard pass as time expired from Cameron Peters to Rodny Ojo in Jackson's first game as Panthers coach.

Both teams go on the road against FBS opponents this Saturday. Texas Southern visits UTEP while Prairie View takes on Baylor.

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This article originally published at Early kickoff return TD sets tone as Prairie View A&M routs rival Texas Southern.