Prairie View A&M freshman QB Lovelocke shows poise against TSU

Prairie View A&M coach Heishma Northern^[1] said before the season he would likely play two quarterbacks in the first few games.

Freshman Jerry Lovelocke^[2], however, gave Northern a few reasons to abandon that strategy for good in Saturday's 37-34 win over rival Texas Southern^[3].

Lovelocke orchestrated three consecutive scoring drives in the final 7:36 that resulted in 17 unanswered points, which proved to be just enough for the Panthers to erase a late 14-point deficit and capture their fifth consecutive win over the Tigers. He scored on a 30-yard run with 7:36 remaining and connected with Greg Thurmond^[4] on a 15-yard touchdown strike to tie the game at 34 with 2:15 left.

After Prairie View (1-1, 1-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) forced TSU into a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, Lovelocke helped the Panthers move into position for Chris Barrick^[5]'s 36-yard go-ahead field goal with four seconds remaining.

Lovelocke, who made his first start after playing sparingly in the previous weekend's season-opening 63-14 loss to Bethune-Cookman, struggled early against TSU and finished only 5-of-18 passing for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

However, Lovelocke's closing act Saturday will likely keep him in the starting role for the near future.

"I know a lot of people will be saying he should have played more last week, but the bottom line is he played a hell of a game this week," Northern said. "He stayed out there fighting, and that's what we expect of him."

Lovelocke, who grew up in Baltimore and played at Edmondson-Westside High School^[6], was recruited to Prairie View in 2010 by former coach Henry Frazier III^[7], who departed in the offseason to take the head coaching job at North Carolina Central. Lovelocke joined the Panthers for their summer camp in 2010 but failed to gain certification by the NCAA Clearinghouse. He spent the entire 2010 season as a fan and wasn't eligible to participate during spring practice.

Lovelocke was cleared in time to join the Panthers for this summer's camp and quickly shot up the depth chart. He opened the season as the backup to redshirt junior Jonathan Troast^[8], whose status was put in jeopardy after a dismal 12-for-22, 116-yard outing with three turnovers against Bethune-Cookman. Lovelocke had a 7-yard touchdown run in that game.

Lovelocke's performance against Bethune-Cookman and in last week's practices was enough for Northern to hand the reins over to him.

"It says that he has a lot of respect for me," Lovelocke said. "He expects me to do big things, and I want to step up and do what he wants."

Wright running right

TSU running back Marcus Wright recorded his eighth straight 100-yard rushing performance dating to last year after going for 143 in Saturday's 37-34 season-opening loss to Prairie View. Wright, 1,034 yards away from breaking the program's career rushing record of 2,934, has averaged 134.9 rushing yards during the eight-game streak. TSU is 7-1 during that span.

TSU wins the numbers game again

TSU lost Saturday's season-opener to Prairie View despite outgaining the Panthers in total yards 404-212 and, in doing so, continued a puzzling trend during its five-game losing streak in the series. TSU outgained Prairie View in yards in four of those five losses. During the span, the Tigers have outgained the Panthers by an average of roughly 311-237 yards.

Odds and ends

TSU running back Martin Gilbert rushed for three touchdowns in Saturday's loss to Prairie View, becoming the first Tiger to score three times in a game since former quarterback Bobby Reid ran for three scores against Concordia on Sept. 27, 2008. Former Prairie View defensive lineman Quinton Spears was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns^[9] last week for their 53-man roster. He will serve as a backup linebacker and play on special teams. Houston Baptist track and field and cross country head coach Theresa Fuqua was inducted into Ohio's Catholic Central High School Hall of Honor^[10] on Saturday. The HBU volleyball team beat Northwestern State on Friday to increase its record against Southland Conference programs to 5-0 this season.

ronnie.turner@chron.com^[11]

References

1. ^{^} Heishma Northern (www.chron.com)
2. ^{^} Jerry Lovelocke (www.chron.com)
3. ^{^} Texas Southern (www.chron.com)
4. ^{^} Greg Thurmond (www.chron.com)
5. ^{^} Chris Barrick (www.chron.com)
6. ^{^} Westside High School (www.chron.com)
7. ^{^} Henry Frazier III (www.chron.com)
8. ^{^} Jonathan Troast (www.chron.com)
9. ^{^} Cleveland Browns (www.chron.com)
10. ^{^} Catholic Central High School Hall of Honor (www.chron.com)
11. ^{^} ronnie.turner@chron.com (www.chron.com)