CIAA Football Week 11 in Review
CIAA Football Week in Review
For the week ending November 4, 2006 (Week 11)
Eagles and Vikings Set to Square Off For CIAA Title
Elizabeth City State 29 Virginia Union 21
In Elizabeth City, receivers Marvin Jackson and Chris Carter combined for 11 catches and three touchdowns and Brandon Fields rushed for 147 yards as 20th ranked Elizabeth City State clinched the Eastern Division title and a berth in next week's CIAA Championship game with a 29-21 win over Virginia Union.
The Vikings got on the scoreboard first, capping a marathon 22-play, 80-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Curtis Rich to Chris Carter. Daniel Mendez's PAT was blocked as ECSU opened up a 6-0 lead.
In the second quarter, the Vikings got a 1-yard TD run from Rich, a 60-yard touchdown strike from backup quarterback Dan Herlihy to Marvin Jackson, and a field goal from Kevin Dodson to open up a 23-7 halftime lead on the Panthers. Virginia Union's only points of the half came on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Little to Michael Hampton.
Little threw his second touchdown of the day, this time for 25 yards to Steven Miller, as the Panthers scored on their opening drive of the third quarter to cut ECSU's lead to 23-14. But the Vikings would respond by going 94 yards in four plays as Rich hooked up with Carter on a 37-yard touchdown pass to push the lead back to 29-14 with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers would again cut the lead to
one score when Little finished off a 69-yard drive with a one yard
touchdown run to trim the Vikings' lead to 29-21 with just under
twelve minutes left in the game. The Panthers got one more
opportunity to tie the score when they got the ball back with 6:33
remaining. Behind the passing and running of Little, the
Panthers converted on a 3rd and 25 and a 4th
and 8 as they marched the ball down to the Viking 18-yard line.
Little then broke loose on a 13-yard run down to the ECSU
five-yard line, but the play was nullified by a holding call.
On the next play, the Vikings officially stamped their ticket to
Durham when Chris Shaw picked off Little's pass at the goal line
and returned it 20-yards, allowing the Vikings to run out the
clock. The Vikings, 9-1, 7-0 CIAA, will face undefeated North
Carolina Central next Saturday at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham
for the CIAA title.
North Carolina Central 52 Johnson C. Smith 7
In Durham, Stadford Brown threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score as the North Carolina Central Eagles tuned up for next week's CIAA Championship game with a 52-7 pasting of Johnson C. Smith. Greg Pruitt Jr. added 122 yards rushing for the 4th ranked Eagles who improved to 10-0 and 7-0 in the CIAA.
Conference Scoreboard
Bowie State 16 Virginia State 7
Elizabeth City State 29 Virginia Union 21
Fayetteville State 34 Livingstone 16
N.C. Central 52 Johnson C. Smith 7
Saint Augustine 6 Winston-Salem St. 26
Shaw 14 Saint Paul's 7
Upcoming Games:
November 11, 2006
CIAA Football Championship Game
Elizabeth City State University vs North Carolina Central University
Durham, NC
1:00pm
December 2, 2006
Pioneer Bowl IX
CIAA vs SIAC
Memorial Stadium
Charlotte, NC
2:00pm
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
November 4, 2006
Offensive Lineman
Sam Funches - North Carolina Central, OT, 6'7", 266, SR, Lawnside, NJ
Funches helped pave the way for the Eagles to accumulate season-highs of 469 yards of total offense and scored 52 points against the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University.
Receiver
Eric McLaughlin - Saint Augustine's, WR, 6'6", 210, JR, Danville, VA
McLaughlin caught 5 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons' 26-6 loss to Winston-Salem State University.
Offensive Back
Nathaniel Queen - Bowie State, HB, 5'10", 205, SR, Seat Pleasant, MD
Queen, the CIAA's leading ground gainer, rushed for a team-high 158 yards on 26 carries and scored 2 touchdowns in Saturday's 16-7 season finale victory over Virginia State University.
Defensive Lineman
Derrick Ray - North Carolina Central, LB, 6'0", 215, JR, Raleigh, NC
Ray recorded a team-high 7 total tackles (3 solo, 4 assisted), including a tackle for a loss of 3 yards as the Eagles held Johnson C. Smith to just 165 yards of total offense.
Defensive Back
Chris Shaw - Elizabeth City State, DB, 5'9", 175, SR, Brooklyn, NY
Shaw had a solid outing verses the Panthers with 3 pass breakups, one interception returned for 20 yards and collected 6 tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted) for a loss of 29 yards as the Vikings defeated Virginia Union 29-21.
Rookie
Stadford Brown - North Carolina Central, QB, 6'1", 196, FR, Washington, DC
Brown was spectacular this week as he completed 14-of-26 passes for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns, rushed for one touchdown and threw no interceptions as the Eagles' end the regular-season 10-0 under his guidance. Brown broke the North Carolina Central record for touchdowns thrown by a rookie with 24 this season.
Speciality
Brandon Gilbert - North Carolina Central, PK/P, 5'9", 183, JR, Graham, NC
Gilbert accounted for 10 of the Eagles' 52 points in Saturday's victory over Johnson C. Smith. He connected on 7-of-7 extra point kicks, made a 22-yard field goal and punted the ball twice for 68 yards to help aide in the win. Gilbert has now connected on 76 consecutive PAT kicks.
Coach
Waverly Tillar - Elizabeth City State
After being picked to finish next to last in the CIAA Eastern Division, Tillar led the Vikings to a 29-21 win over Virginia Union to finish 9-1 overall and 7-0 in the conference to become the Eastern Division Champions. This will be the Vikings' first trip to the CIAA Championship game since 1971.
Pioneer Bowl Watch
The CIAAfootball regular season has come to an end with two teams having claimed theirspot in the CIAA Football Championship Game. North Carolina Central andElizabeth City State will show-down on November 11 to claim this year's title.
Thereare several teams in the CIAA that are hopeful for a spot in the D-II playoffsthis year. As of the October30thNCAA D-II Regional Rankings, North Carolina Central ranks3rd, while Elizabeth City State ranks 7th. Other rankingCIAA teams are Johnson C. Smith and Virginia Union, 10thand12threspectively.
Thosefour teams, along with Bowie State University, are the only teams that are inthe running for appearing in the Pioneer Bowl.
Elizabeth City State 29 Virginia Union21
Next Week:Elizabeth City State vs North Carolina Central
CIAAChampionship Game
NC Central 52 Johnson C. Smith 7
Next Week: North Carolina Central vs Elizabeth City State
CIAA Championship Game
Battle of the Bands Watch
CIAA Battle of the Bands- Fan Voting Competition
Virginia State- First place with 3,464 votes
North Carolina Central- Second place with 2,757
