For many football seasons, Joe Taylor and Lawrence Kershaw worked together on the same side of the gridiron.

They’ll be on opposite sides Saturday when Virginia Union Univeristy makes a 217-mile trip to Fayetteville State for a 6 p.m. CIAA kickoff.

In this season of reorganization on Lombardy Street, VUU is 1-1 following a rainy 38-21 Hovey Field loss to Charleston, W.Va.

Next up is a match falling under the category of “small world.”

Taylor is the Panthers’ first-year athletic director, while Mark James has taken over as head coach.

Kershaw, who served as offensive coordinator under Taylor at Hampton and Florida A&M, is the second-year Broncos head coach.

Furthermore, Taylor ’s son — Aaron — is now the VUU running backs mentor after coaching under Kershaw a year ago at Fayetteville.

Kershaw also is a former assistant at VUU and Virginia State, where he played in the mid-1990s.

Also, FSU assistant coach Calvin Randall is a former VUU assistant.

This Saturday’s collision is almost a year to the day from Sept. 21, 2013, when Fayetteville nipped VUU, 21-17, at Hovey Field, sending the Panthers into a downward spiral.

VUU limped to finish 3-7, and coach-athletic director Michael Bailey was not retained. Fayetteville finished 6-4.

Following the dismissal of Bailey, Kershaw was among those believed to be in the running for the VUU post that went to James.

VUU is hoping Taylor, the administrator, will be as successful as Taylor, the coach, who won 233 games at Howard, VUU, Hampton and A&M.

In two home games under James, VUU defeated Siena Heights, 12-0, before blowing a 21-17 halftime lead last week against Charleston.

As was the case a year ago, VUU has an unsettled quarterback situation, with Shawheem Dowdy and Ken Graham forming something of a double-barreled attack.

Dowdy and Graham each passed for more than 100 yards against Charleston, while Donte Gross, a freshman from Baltimore, had seven catches for 86 yards, including a 49-yard TD from Dowdy.

With just 48 yards, Dowdy, the Grambling transfer, also was the Panthers’ leading rusher.

On a day made for umbrellas, Stephan Robinson of Louisville, Ky., offered a ray of sunshine with a 75-yard TD return of Jamaal Wright’s blocked field goal.

Native Floridian Charles Davis, a junior transfer from College of the Desert, Calif., had 17 tackles, including seven solos.

Charleston dominated the game and clock.

The visitors had 34 first downs to the Panthers’ 11, and 42:29 possession time compared to 17:31 for VUU. Making it worse, VUU drew 13 flags for 125 penalty yards.

Fayetteville, selected to finish second to Winston-Salem in the CIAA South, is coming off close losses to Chowan (26-22) and UNC-Pembroke (16-14).

Billed as the Two Rivers Classic, FSU vs. UNC-Pembroke became the “Two-Day Classic” when the Sept. 13 game was postponed to Sept. 14 due to dangerous storms.