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Team Robinson wins fourth annual HBCU Legacy Bowl 17-14 over Team Gaither

Florida A&M quarterback Daniel Richardson wins offensive MVP, Alabama State defensive lineman Treqwan Thomas wins defensive MVP

Feb 22, 2025 at 08:29 PM

Andrew Lang

Team Robinson won the fourth annual AllState HBCU Legacy Bowl 17-14 over Team Gaither on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Yulman Stadium at Tulane University.

Team Robinson took home both MVP awards, too, with Florida A&M quarterback Daniel Richardson receiving offensive MVP honors after completing nine of 12 passes for 110 yards and Alabama State defensive lineman Treqwan Thomas securing defensive MVP with four sacks.

"At the end of the day it's just a blessing to be here," Richardson said. "The whole week, the comradery we have, the connections I built, one of the quarterbacks Miles Crawley is shoot one of my best friends now. At the end of the day got to meet different people and you never know where you might end up down the line."

Team Robinson jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half behind 59- and 70-yard drives capped off by a 10-yard rushing touchdown by running back Walter Wilbon of Florida Memorial and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Richardson to wide receiver DeJuan Bell of Fort Valley State.

Team Robinson looked to carry that lead into the half but a miscommunication between quarterback and receiver led to an interception as time ticked down on the first half for Kole Jones of North Carolina Central. The safety returned the ball 58 yards to set up Team Gaither in scoring position and they capitalized with a 6-yard pass for a touchdown as time expired to narrow the lead to 14-7.

After surrendering a field goal in the third quarter to trail 17-7, Team Gaither drew closer with a 10-yard touchdown reception by Tennessee State's Jalal Dean. He had six catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns.

Team Gaither got the ball back for the final time with 2:34 left and started to move the ball with completions of 21 and 15 yards, but safety Amon Scarbrough of Alabama State hauled in an interception on third-and-17 to secure the win for Team Robinson.

Both teams used a majority of their roster with three quarterbacks seeing the field for each team. Team Gaither had eight rushers record a carry and eight players had a reception. Team Robinson had six players rush the ball and 12 players make a catch.

"Just to share the ball, that's the fun thing," Richardson said. "You got all these play-makers that you are used to watching on film like against our defense, man that receiver is really good, but now you are actually throwing to him so it's unbelievable."

It was no different on defense as 20 players recorded a tackle for Team Gaither and 22 for Team Robinson.

Team Gaither wore gold uniforms with red and black accents and black helmets while Team Robinson wore black uniforms with red and gold accents and white helmets.

Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor and Saints legend and Grambling product Greg Fassitt were in attendance.

The Alcorn State marching band, Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite, performed at halftime.

Following the halftime performance, the Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 was presented: Henry Dyer (Grambling State), Rashean Mathis (Bethune-Cookman), Jacquay Nunnally (Florida A&M), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State), Jay 'Sky' Walker (Howard), and coach Fred 'Pop' Long (Wiley).

The 2024 Black College Football Player of the Year, Jada Byers out of Virginia Union, also was recognized. He had eight carries for 29 yards and one reception for 13 yards for Team Gaither.

Fassitt said it was special for him as a New Orleans native to see this game happen in his hometown. The Super Bowl champion said the event completing its fourth year shows it has staying power.

"It means there is a high-level commitment to exposure, to opportunity and to representation to give guys who come from historically black colleges and universities a moment to really showcase themselves on a stage that didn't exist," he said.

Photos: HBCU Legacy Bowl Game 2/22/2025