CIAA Week #4 Football Review

Saint Augustine’s 7 (0-4 / 0-2 CIAA) at Bowie State 10 (3-1 / 2-0 CIAA)

The games’ last play was probably the most exciting overall. With Bowie State holding a slim 10-7 lead with nine seconds remaining in the contest, the Bulldogs were forced to punt the ball to Saint Augustine’s. Saint Augustine’s Josiah Benson retrieved the punt at the Falcons 3-yard line and returned it 66 yards to the Bowie State 31-yard line before Bulldogs punter Justin Zavala made the game saving tackle to preserve the win. Led by a crushing defensive effort that kept Saint Augustine's offense to 189 total yards, the Bowie State Bulldogs were able to hold on for a 10-7 victory at home on a wet Saturday afternoon in Bulldog Stadium. Bowie State’s Carleton Stewart led all rushers with 116 yards on 32 carries. BSU’s Amir Jenkins completed 7-of-15 passes for 85 yards and one touchdown. Khalil Glover was BSU’s leading tackler with six. SAU quarterback Anthony Butler threw for a game-high 114 yards, completing 9-of-27 passes and one touchdown. Marquis Munoz was the leading rusher for the Falcons with 80 net yards on 12 carries, with his longest being 45 yards. The Saint Augustine’s defensive trio of Lee Sales, David Hylick and Monte Williams accounted for nine tackles apiece in the loss.
Next Opponent: Saint Augustine’s hosts Virginia Union (September 30th at 1 PM)
                              Bowie State at Livingstone (September 30 at 4 PM)

Johnson C. Smith 27 (3-1 / 2-0 CIAA) at Lincoln (PA) 20 (1-3 / 0-2 CIAA)

Johnson C. Smith held a 10-0 lead after one quarter of play, but host Lincoln (PA) went into halftime with a 14-10 advantage. The visiting Golden Bulls regained the lead at 17-14 in the third quarter and extended the lead to 24-20 at the 8:19 mark of the 4 quarter. JCSU added a late game 36-yard field goal to secure the victory. As a team, JCSU accounted for 328 yards of total offense compared to 187 total yards for LUPA. Other advantages for Johnson C. Smith were First Downs (24-10) and Time of Possession (42:42 to 17:18). On an individual basis, JCSU was led on offense by Robert Adams’ 127 passing yards (completing 14-of-28), Jacob Newman with a game-high 94 rushing yards and Tyrek Williams’ 60 reception yards. The top Golden Bulls defender was Jaquirius Smith with six total tackles, all solo.  LUPA quarterback Isaiah Freeman threw for a game-high 152 passing yards and scored two touchdowns. The Lincoln (PA) Lions top and game-high reception yards leader was Eli Riddick with 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jahad Green was a beast on the Lions defense, pulling down a game-high 16 tackles (11 solo and five assists).
Next Opponent: Johnson C. Smith at Elizabeth City State (September 30 at 1 PM)
                              Lincoln (PA) hosts Winston-Salem State (September 30 at 1 PM)

Fayetteville State 10 (2-2 / 2-0) at Virginia Union 7 (3-1 / 1-1)

Fayetteville State is no stranger to late-game heroics and for the second week in a row, the Broncos were victorious again this time upending nationally ranked Virginia Union 10-7 on the road. FSU’s Jacob Meneses booted a 27-yard field goal which hit off the left upright and went through with just six ticks remaining in the contest. Playing in a steady rain for the entire game, neither team could muster much offense. Virginia Union tallied 184 yards of total offense and Fayetteville State managed just 92 yards of total offense. FSU’s Joe Owens had 47 passing yards, while Julian Milligan rushed for 34 net yards and added 34 reception yards. On Fayetteville State’s defensive side of the ball, Brian Grier tied for game-high tackle honors with 10, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble in the Broncos win. FSU’s Shawn Robinson and Kolby Merritt fell just short of double-digit tackles, recording nine and eight respectively. Virginia Union’s Curtis Allen was the game’s leading offensive producer, pounding out 155 rushing yards on 30 carries. The Virginia Union duo of Shamar Graham and Isaac Anderson teamed up to lead the previously unbeaten Panthers with 10 tackles apiece.
Next Opponent: Fayetteville State at Bluefield State (September 30 at 6 1 PM)
                              Virginia Union at Saint Augustine’s (September 30 at 1 PM)

Livingstone 0 (0-4 / 0-2) at Virginia State 33 (4-0 / 2-0 CIAA)

Visiting Livingstone College was no match for Virginia State University on Saturday night as the Trojans blanked the Blue Bears 33-0. Weather conditions were terrible in Ettrick (Va.) as was the case all along the east coast. However, Virginia State was able to roll up 441 yards of total offense (298 rushing and 143 passing. On the flip side, Livingstone managed just 132 yards of total offense (107 rushing and 25 passing). The VSU Trojans averaged 6.1 yards per carry on the rain-soaked turf of Rogers Stadium compared to 2.5 yards per carry for the LC Blue Bears. Virginia State quarterback Steve Williams eclipsed the century mark in passing yards with a game-high 119, completing 11-of-18 passes and one touchdown. Running back Jimmyll Williams carried the ball a game-high 19 times for a game-high 105 rushing yards and scored one touchdown. Livingstone’s Blue Bears were paced by Jaden Echols’ game-high 17 total tackles (16 solo), which included one tackle for a loss, and he forced one fumble. The Trojans defense was led by Miquel Pillow-Smiey and Cameron Davis with five tackles each.
Next Opponent: Livingstone hosts Bowie State (September 30 at 4 PM)
                              Virginia State at Shaw (September 30 at 1 PM)

Bluefield State 0 (1-3 / 0-2 CIAA) at Winston-Salem State 30 (2-2 / 2-0 CIAA)

Winston-Salem State played host to Bluefield Stats on Saturday evening in Bowman Gray Stadium and came away with a 30-0 shutout. Both teams performed well as the Bluefield State Big Blue outgained the Winston-Salem State Rams 304 to 251 in total offensive yards. BSU’s Big Blue also held advantages in first downs (20-12) and time of possession (32:45 to 27:15). Bluefield State’s outstanding freshman quarterback threw for a game-high 238 yards (completing 25-of-48 passes) but was intercepted twice and sacked four times. As for the WSSU Rams, Daylin Lee threw for 143 passing yards, completing 12-of-24 passes and one touchdown. R.J. Mobley was the Rams leading receiver with 96 yards (which included his longest of 56) and scored one touchdown. WSSU’s Asa Barnes was the games’ leading ground gainer with 77 rushing yards on 15 carries and one score. Defensively, Winston-Salem State was paced by Noble Joyner with a game-high 10 tackles while teammate Damien Jones was credited with a half dozen tackles in the win. Bluefield State’s leading tackler was Brett Brantley with nine tackles followed by Jarves Scruggs with eight total tackles.
Next Opponent: Bluefield State hosts Fayetteville State (September 30 at 1 PM)
                              Winston-Salem State at Lincoln (PA) (September 30 at 1 PM)

Shaw 20 (1-3 / 1-1 CIAA) at Elizabeth City State 7 (1-3 / 0-2 CIAA)

In a game two different halves, the Shaw Bears did just enough in the first 30 minutes of play and held of a second half surge by Elizabeth City State to claim a tough 20-17 road win against the Vikings. This game was originally scheduled for Saturday (9/23) but was rescheduled to Sunday (9/24) out of an abundance of caution due to inclement weather. Shaw held a 20-0 lead at halftime before all the second half scoring shifted over to the home team as the Vikings scored their 17 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters to account for the final score of 20-17. With the victory the Shaw Bears picked up their first win of the season and squared their CIAA record at 1-1. Elizabeth City State dropped its second consecutive game which sets their overall record at 1-3 but 0-2 in league play. Shaw was led on offense by quarterback Patrick Blake with 149 passing yards and two touchdowns. Shaw’s Sidney Gibbs was the games leading rusher with 62 yards. The Bears defense was led by Malik Charles with a game-high 12 total tackles. Elizabeth City State quarterback torched the Shaw defense, throwing for a game-high 237 passing yards, completing 15-of-31 passes and scored two touchdowns.
Next Opponent:  Shaw hosts Virginia State (September 30 at 1 PM)
                              Elizabeth City State hosts Johnson C. Smith (September 30 at 1 PM)