PHOTOS 1 | Virginia Union University drew first blood, but eighth-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University defeated the Panthers 28-11 on Saturday, September 14, at Hovey Field in Richmond, Va.

Union, fresh off a 36-17 upset of Division I Hampton University the week before, put together a 67-yard opening drive to enable Jefferson Souza to connect on a 27-yard field goal with 8:31 left in the first quarter to give VUU a 3-0 lead.

Lenoir-Rhyne, however, scored the next 28 points.  VUU finally got back on the scoreboard when the Panthers' Tabyus Taylor took the ball in from two yards out early in the fourth quarter.

"We knew going into this game it would be tough," said VUU Head Football Coach Dr. Alvin Parker.  "Anytime you face a national level program like Lenior-Rhyne you have to play your best, today we did not play our best. We will use this game to learn from it and get back to the drawing board and be ready for our next game."

Taylor led VUU on the ground with 43 yards on 23 carries.  

Virginia Union's Khalid Morris connected on 16 of 31 passes for 222 yards.

VUU's Charles Hall IV led the air attack with seven catches for 132 yards in the game.

Souza also had seven punts for 266 yards for an average of 38.0 yards per kick.

On the defensive side, Virginia Union's Tyrone Glanton had 10 tackles while teammate Amir Washum recovered a Lenoir-Rhyne fumble.

The loss dropped VUU to 1-1 on the season while Lenoir-Rhyne is now 2-0.  Virginia Union meets Johnson C. Smith University at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 21, at Hovey Field in Richmond, Va.