Grambling and North Carolina Central University competed in something annoyingly called the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl today—in actuality, it is the Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Championship Bowl and should be called only that. The two schools are stepping up for the title in the bowl's second year, and there's a lot on the line—aside from a sick halftime band performance.And as if you needed to set the stage any more, Grambling wideout Verlan Hunter came with the full on theatrics to make it a show. On 3rd and 12 early into the first quarter, Grambling QB Devante Kincade started feeling pressure that pushed him down to the sideline, where he spotted his lone wideout in fairly tight coverage and fired off a pass in stride. Hunter saw the ball going over his head and lifted off his feet—as if the ground fell underneath him—tipped back, and stretched out his hand to make divine contact with the ball. It was graceful and athletic and wonderful.Unfortunately for everyone involved, there was a holding penalty on Grambling that nullified the catch. Instead of immortalizing this play with legitimacy, the Tigers were set back a few yards. But no worries on the end of the day for Grambling, as NCCU would have their own slick play that amounted to less than the desired effect.Check out this beautiful Hail Mary reception from NCCU's Quentin Atkinson:Too bad he set back his team with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It's unclear if they would have made the extra point without the penalty or not, but Grambling's block all but sealed the game.Oh, and Devante Kincade? He won SWAC Player of the Year, and had some heartfelt words on his journey to get there:
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The HBCU National Championship Bowl is fast becoming a great American tradition.DeVante Kincade on his journey from Ole Miss to Grambling. Great stuff. pic.twitter.com/7IVgw4BoOT
— HBCU Gameday (@HBCUGameday) December 17, 2016