Winston-Salem, NC — Virginia State University leaned on opportunistic defense and special teams play to secure a 34-33 victory over Winston-Salem State (WSSU) on Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium. Three takeaways in the third quarter — two on special teams and a tipped interception — sparked a 24-point outburst that proved decisive in front of 5,685 fans.
WSSU struck first as quarterback Daylin Lee capped a grinding opening drive with a four-yard touchdown to Jayden Grimes. The Rams held a 13-10 halftime lead behind two Gabriel Lorenzana field goals. But the Trojans flipped the script after the break.
It started when VSU recovered a fumble on a punt return, setting up Rashaan Matthews Jr.’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Rose. Minutes later, Dante Clark intercepted Lee on a tipped ball, and the Trojans quickly converted with a field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, another WSSU return miscue gave VSU the ball again, leading to another Matthews-to-Rose score. Matthews capped the quarter with an eight-yard strike to Marquis Smith, and suddenly the Trojans led 34-20.
Matthews finished 17 of 25 for 137 yards and four touchdowns, spreading the ball to six receivers. Rose starred on both sides of the offense, rushing for 124 yards and adding two receiving touchdowns. As a unit, VSU piled up 267 rushing yards and converted 9 of 13 third downs.
WSSU refused to quit. Lee threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns while adding a short rushing score. Running back Noah Marshall pulled the Rams within one with a four-yard touchdown run at the 5:55 mark, but Lorenzana’s extra point attempt missed wide. VSU’s offense then bled out the final minutes with a punishing ground game to seal the one-point win.
Head coach Dr. Henry Frazier III emphasized that Virginia State didn’t simply benefit from mistakes — they created them.
“They didn’t give us anything,” Frazier said. “We went and took the turnovers and turned them into points. Their offense didn’t touch the ball until deep into the third quarter because we got turnovers. That’s a testament to special teams as well as our defense.”
The victory lifted Virginia State to 2-1 overall — however the game did not count as a conference game for VSU. Meanwhile Winston-Salem State slipped to 2-2 overall. For Frazier, the next step is conditioning.
“We’ve got to get these guys in better shape to be able to finish ballgames,” he admitted.