SLIDESHOW

ETTRICK - He'd missed one field goal, made one and had one blocked.

Virginia State's Justin Parker tried to free his mind from that bit of background with the game riding on his left foot last night.

"I had to come back and redeem myself," he said.

The Matoaca High graduate did just that, nailing a 20-yard field goal with 8 seconds left. That, and Parker's other field goal, were just enough to allow VSU to eke out a 6-3 victory over Saint Augustine's in a CIAA game at Virginia State.

"I knew my line was going to hold on the last one," Parker said. "There was a little bit of nerves, but I knew I couldn't let the team down. They tried to ice me when they called timeout [before the kick]. I just kept my calm and went in there and put it away."

The victory allowed VSU to improve 1-0, 2-2 - and erase the sting on last week's last-minute, 43-36 loss to Saint Joseph's. The Falcons dropped to 0-1, 1-3.

"We'll take the field goal," Trojans coach Andrew Faison said. "We'll take the win - ugly - but we'll take it."

VSU struggled most of the night on offense. Running back Taron Hampton, the seventh-leading rusher in Division II (135 yards per game), was bottled up until the final possession. The Trojans also were hampered by sacks in crucial situations and penalties.

Enter the defense, which had allowed an average of 35.3 points in the three previous games. Saint Augustine's rushed for 217 yards, but VSU stiffened when it counted.

"Every team that plays us say we have no defense," linebacker Pierre Clement said. "We showed the conference we've got defensive players who can play."

Clement, who's 6-2, 202 pounds, turned in perhaps the biggest play of the evening. The Falcons, facing fourth-and-one at the VSU 44 with 1:50 left, went for it. Clement got Arnold Mullins (24 carries, 135 yards) around the ankles and got help, throwing Mullins for a 2-yard loss.

"I just knew they were running my way because they kept on saying I was small," Clement said. "On the last play they were looking at me like, 'You ain't making this play.' I just felt disrespected."

Showing urgency, the Trojans moved the ball downfield quickly. They reached the 1-yard line with 21 seconds left before Hampton lost a yard on a run.

"We knew we had to pick the tempo up," quarterback Leonard Johnson said. "We started running comebacks, outs, just kind of short passes. They were bailing out thinking we were going deep on them. . . . We got it to the goal line. It was up to the kicker from there."

Johnson and Parker are in four classes together. They have their own handshake. Johnson said they performed that ritual before Parker went on the field and waited through two timeouts.

"I said, 'Man, this is all you do," Johnson said. " 'We're practicing, and you're down there kicking field goals all practice. It's you, the ball and the holder. Just put it through.'"

St. Augustine's ------------------------- 3 0 0 0 - 3
Virginia State ------------------------- 3 0 0 3 - 6

St. Aug. - FG Daniels 25

VSU - FG Parker 35

VSU - FG Parker 20

RUSHING

St. Aug. - Mullins 24 carries, 135 yards, Sanders 12-70, A. Brown 9-16, C. Brown 1-1, Brownlee 1minus-5; VSU - Hampton 17-94, Fleming 3-9, Johnson 8minus-32.

PASSING

St. Aug. - Brown 4 completions, 8 attempts, 26 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions; VSU - Johnson 15-27-117-0-0.

RECEIVING

St. Aug. - Green 2 catches, 16 yards, Gibson 1-8, Boone 1-2; VSU - Berry 8-76, Custis 2-13, Crump 1-10, Paris 1-9, Choice 1-4, Norcome 1-4, Fleming 1-1.