Box Score Virginia Union University's William Stanback rushed for 104 yards in his first game in a VUU uniform, but Long Island University Post held off the Panthers to take a 14-12 win over Virginia Union on Saturday, September 3, in Hovey Field in Richmond, Va.

LIU Post recorded a pair of safeties, kicked a field goal, found the end zone for the only time just before halftime and held on to defeat the Panthers 14-12 on Saturday at Hovey Field in each teams' season opener.

Virginia Union had an opportunity to even the score with fewer than two minutes to play. Shawheem Dowdy hit Jusse Yorke from 2 yards out for the Panthers' only touchdown to make it 14-12, but the 2-point conversion pass failed.

The Pioneers recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to leave Richmond with a victory.

"Penalties added up, didn't take advantage of early situations," said James, who is starting his third season with the Panthers. "We put the ball on the ground several times with them, weren't able to pick the ball up and make plays. Defensively, we caused some turnovers in the first half and the second half, we just fell a bit short."

The Panthers were penalized before the opening kickoff for unsportsmanlike conduct, a precursor to the following four quarters.

Union was penalized 14 times for 114 yards, and the Pioneers took four penalties for 57 yards.

A steady rainfall throughout most likely contributed to the game's eight fumbles. Union dropped a pair but recovered both. The Pioneers fumbled six times and lost three.

"Defense stood up strong in the second half, but sometimes it's just a little too late," James said.

Michael Brown recorded an interception for Union. Eddie Johnson had 12 tackles, three for a loss, and forced and recovered a fumble.

But it was the LIU Post defense that put points on the scoreboard.

A snap over Dowdy's head and into the end zone resulted in the first points of the game, a safety for the visitors. They recorded another safety late in the second quarter, when they blocked a Union punt that rolled out of the back of the Panthers' end zone.

Pioneers kicker Joey Tolgyesi made a 27-yard field goal between a pair of JeanClaude Brooks' field goals for Union in the second quarter. Jeff Kidd hit James Higgins from 14 yards out just before halftime to put LIU Post up 14-6.

The game remained scoreless until Yorke's touchdown with 1:14 left to play.

"LIU's a great team. They're a perennial NCAA opponent. They played us hard," James said. "We had a chance to make a play at the end of the game. We didn't make it. If we made it and put it into overtime, might have been a different conversation, but we just didn't get it done."

This week, James said the Panthers will watch film and look to correct the mistakes while remembering "we're still Virginia Union University. We'll go back, we'll watch the film. We'll get better. We'll get ready.

"Sometimes, it's first-game jitters, sometimes you start believing different things before you put in all the work that you need to do," James said. "We don't have emotions. We're just going to go back and work harder."