BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Behind a historic rushing performance from junior running back Kyree Edwards, the Bluefield University football team defeated Virginia University of Lynchburg 30-26 Saturday afternoon at Mitchell Stadium.
The win improved the Rams to 2-3 on the season, while Virginia-Lynchburg fell to 0-5.
Bluefield wasted little time finding the end zone. After the Rams' defense forced a punt on the opening possession, Edwards rushed for 21 yards on back-to-back carries before senior running back Rayjuan Traynham added runs of 13 and 21 yards. Traynham's 21-yard touchdown capped the four-play, 55-yard drive and gave BU a 7-0 lead with 11:14 remaining in the opening quarter.
Virginia-Lynchburg answered with a 15-play, 93-yard drive, but the extra point was unsuccessful as Bluefield maintained a 7-6 advantage.
Edwards helped spark the Rams again on the ensuing possession, breaking off runs of 24 and 11 yards to move BU into VUL territory. The drive eventually stalled inside the red zone, but senior kicker Isaiah Bandy connected on a 33-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-6 early in the second quarter.
Virginia-Lynchburg responded with another lengthy possession, as the Dragons took a 13-10 lead with 7:30 remaining in the half.
After forcing a punt late in the second quarter, BU took over at its own eight-yard line with 3:19 remaining. Redshirt freshman quarterback Zack Paulk helped engineer a 12-play, 92-yard scoring drive, completing passes to senior wide receivers Jamonta Chavis and Jordan Edwards along the way. K. Edwards finished the drive with a six-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds remaining, sending the Rams into halftime with a 16-13 advantage.
The Rams leaned heavily on their rushing attack in the third quarter. Following a VULÂ punt, Bluefield put together a 69-yard touchdown drive that featured eight consecutive rushing plays. K. Edwards picked up 27 yards during the possession, while Traynham added 36 yards and capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to extend the BU lead to 23-13 with 2:33 remaining in the quarter.
The Dragons answered quickly on a 66-yard touchdown, trimming the Bluefield advantage to 23-20 with 1:05 remaining in the third.
Bluefield's defense came up with a crucial stop midway through the fourth quarter. Freshman linebacker Zyrohn Canady and junior linebacker Elijah Padgett combined for a sack before Canady teamed with sophomore linebacker Ethan Walker for another sack later in the possession, forcing the Dragons to punt with 6:35 remaining.
The Rams then turned to K. Edwards to put the game away. Starting at its own 21-yard line, Bluefield put together an eight-play, 79-yard drive that took 4:39 off the clock. The reigning Appalachian Athletic Conference Player of the Week accounted for 62 rushing yards on the possession, including a 36-yard run that took the ball to the Virginia-Lynchburg one-yard line. He punched it in on the next play for his second touchdown of the afternoon, giving BU a 30-20 advantage with 1:56 remaining.
VUL responded with a 10-yard touchdown with 21 seconds remaining, but the ensuing two-point conversion failed. Bluefield recovered the onside kick and ran out the remaining time to secure its second consecutive victory, 30-26.
Bluefield finished with 432 yards of total offense, including 331 yards on the ground, its highest single-game rushing total since facing the Dragons last season. The Rams averaged 6.6 yards per carry and scored all four of their touchdowns on the ground.
K. Edwards turned in another career performance, rushing 29 times for a career-high 232 yards and two touchdowns while averaging eight yards per carry. His 232 rushing yards rank third in Bluefield program history for a single game. Traynham added 98 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries as the duo combined for 330 rushing yards and all four BU touchdowns. Paulk completed 11 passes for 101 yards, while Chavis led the receiving corps with 48 yards on four catches.
Defensively, Bluefield recorded seven tackles for loss and four sacks. Canady turned in a career performance with nine tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks, while Padgett led the Rams with 11 tackles and added a half sack. Freshman defensive back Ezekiel Taylor finished with nine tackles, while junior defensive back Titus Holte and sophomore linebacker Chase Harris added seven apiece.
Bluefield opens AAC play Saturday at home against Point University. Kickoff at Mitchell Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
