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| Virginia Union running back Curtis Allen celebrates his first of two touchdowns, this 53-yard run against Miles College. He finished the day with 206 all-purpose yards. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
CANTON, Ohio - Virginia Union and Dr. Alvin Parker are returning to Canton for the second time in three years to compete against Miles College in the 'Classic at the Classic' as part of the 2025 Black College Hall of Fame Classic, presented by The Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Virginia Union is entering the scene after losing 17 players to the transfer portal, and is set to establish Canton as a successful destination. Their most recent game here took place in 2023 against Morehouse, resulting in a 45-13 victory.
"I mean, it's a testament," said Dr. Alvin Parker, when asked how you replaced 17 athletes and produced an output for their first game of the season.
The first quarter was as expected for teams opening their college seasons, as they were still figuring out timing and chemistry. Both teams performed well in the air, but Virginia Union had more success on the ground, gaining 82 yards to Miles' 23 yards and scoring the only points of the quarter, a field goal by Brady Myers with 3:11 left to play. They would lead 3-0.
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| Virginia Union assistant head coach and defensive coordinator talks to his team during the game. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
During the second quarter, the Panthers would turn it up as they began to move the ball again on the ground, leading to a rushing touchdown with Curtis Allen bolting out of the backfield up the right side for a 53-yard touchdown to go up 10-0 with 10:05 left. Curtis would have 126 total rushing yards at the half.
Miles orchestrated a 6-play drive ending with a 39-yard field goal by Reid Grek, increasing the score to 10-3 in favor of Virginia Union. With both teams struggling in the passing game, Virginia Union quarterback RJ Rosales successfully connected with Ricky Key Jr. for a 35-yard touchdown reception, concluding the scoring for the half, with Virginia Union leading 16-3 following a missed extra point.
Virginia Union would take a 17-3 lead into halftime.
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| Virginia Union quarterback RJ Rosales is looking to gain running ground as Miles defender Carson Pritchett looks to close in on the tackle. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia) |
In the second half of the game, Virginia Union would contribute an additional 28 points and accumulate more rushing yards against Miles, whose defense struggled to contain the running game, surrendering 182 yards in the first half. Additionally, there were 193 yards given up in the second half, with no further scoring occurring.
For Miles College, they knew there demise was not being able to stop the run game, "And you know we talk about it, you know some of the guys just hitting the wrong gaps and missed tackles, and we had so many guys somewhat injured, that didn't stop them from going in there playing football," said head coach Chris Goode.
Virginia Union's offense produced 556 total yards with 181 coming from the starting quarterback, RJ Rosales. And was that the game plan? "Obviously, just take what they give us, you know that wasn't the plan, but staying true to the coaching."
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| Clash at The Classic, Offensive Player of the Game, Curtis Allen, running for one of his two touchdowns on the day. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
They were masterful en route to the "Clash at The Classic" trophy, capping off a 45-3 victory as Curtis Allen and Kamari Francis were offensive and defensive players of the game.
Both schools are scheduled to compete against Edward Waters University and Virginia Union on September 13, while Miles will face them on September 6 as their upcoming opponents.
Ohsfbmedia.com game coverage was presented by The Ross Real Estate Group-KW Legacy Group, and Kingdom Takeover.
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