Vikings Edge Bulldogs in Pivotal Divisional Match-Up

CIAA Football Week in Review
For the week ending October 14, 2006 (Week 8) 

Vikings Edge Bulldogs in Pivotal Divisional Match-Up 

Elizabeth City State capitalized on two turnovers in a three minute span in the 1^st quarter to open up a 13-0 lead and then held off a late rally as the Vikings got by the Bowie State Bulldogs, 16-12 in a pivotal CIAA Eastern Division game.

ECSU's first score of the game came at the 5:42 mark of the 1^st quarter when tailback Brandon Fields scored from two yards out to finish off a five-play, 39-yard drive that was set up by a fumble by Bowie State running back Nathaniel Queen.   

Another Bowie State fumble deep in their own territory led to the Vikings' second touchdown of the quarter, when Curtis Rich connected with Marvin Jackson on a nine-yard touchdown pass to cap a 4-play, 25-yard drive as ECSU opened up a 13-0 lead with 2:36 left in the first quarter.

The Vikings got what would turn out to be their last points of the day in the second quarter when Kevin Dodson kicked a 33-yard field goal to extend their lead to 16-0.  Bowie State would get their only points of the first half when the Vikings were called for an illegal block in the end zone, resulting in a safety as the Bulldog trailed 16-2 at the half. 

Bowie State would score the only points of the third quarter when quarterback Lamar Manigo connected with Anthony Green on a 24-yard touchdown pass.  John Riley added the PAT as the Bulldogs cut the lead to 16-9.  On the Bulldogs' next possession Riley's 26-yard field goal would cut ECSU's lead to 16-12 with 11:26 remaining in the game

Bowie State would get one final shot at a game winning drive when they got the ball back with 7:10 left in the game. Starting on their own 25-yard line, the Bulldogs moved the ball out to the ECSU's 37-yard line on four plays, but another costly turnover, this time a fumble by Manigo at the Viking 33-yard line, ended the drive as ECSU recovered and ran out most of the remaining clock.  

With the win, the Vikings, who are off to their best start since 1995, improve to 6-1 and 4-0 and take sole possession of first place in the CIAA Eastern Division.  The Bulldogs fall to 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the CIAA.

Conference Scoreboard

Elizabeth City State         16                 Bowie State                12
NC Central                      49                 Fayetteville State         6
Saint Augustine's             15                 Johnson C. Smith        9
Virginia State                   24                 Saint Paul's                  5
Virginia Union                 43                 Shaw                           34
 

Upcoming Games:

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
October 14, 2006

Offensive Lineman

Sam Funches - North Carolina Central, LT, 6'7", 266, SR, Lawnside, NJ

            Funches was the top blocker as the Eagles amassed 390 yards of total offense, including a season-high 199 yards rushing (4 touchdowns), and scored 49 points in NCCU's biggest victory over Fayetteville State in 10 years. The Eagles also passed for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Receiver

Charles Futrell - North Carolina Central, WR, 6'6", 200, SR, Fayetteville, NC

            In front of his hometown crowd, Futrell caught 4 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, during a 49-6 win over Fayetteville State.

Offensive Back

Lamar Little - Virginia Union, QB, 5'11", 200, SO, Biscoe, NC

            Little rushed for 204 yards and 4 touchdowns and passed for 142 yards (7-of-11 completions) and one touchdown as he guided Virginia Union to a 43-34 win over Shaw University.

Defensive Lineman

Alex Hall - Saint Augustine's, DE, 6'4", 250, SO, Glenarden, MD

            Hall was outstanding for the Falcons' defense as he registered 10 total tackles (7 solo, 3 assisted); including 6 tackles for a loss of 33 yards and had 4.5 sacks for a loss of 30 yards in the 15-9 win over Golden Bulls.

Defensive Back

Jonathan Johnson - Virginia Union, DB, 5'11", 200, FR, Midlothian, VA

            Johnson was all over the Bears' secondary as he picked off 3 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Panthers to victory over Shaw University. He also had one pass break-up in the game.

Rookie

Justin Hamilton - Elizabeth City State, DB, 6'1", 195, Camden, NJ

            On the road at Bowie, MD, Hamilton racked up 4 solo tackles (1 tackle for a loss of 2 yards), forced one fumble, returned 2 interceptions for 56 yards and had one pass break-up as the Vikings spoiled the Bulldogs' Homecoming 16-12.

Speciality

Brandon Gilbert - North Carolina Central, PK/P, 5'9", 183, JR, Graham, NC

            In Saturday's Western Division match-up, Gilbert converted all 7 extra point kicks and punted four times for 161 yards in the Eagles' victory over Fayetteville State. Gilbert has made 60 consecutive extra-point kicks, dating back to September 5, 2005.

Coach

Waverly Tillar - Elizabeth City State

            Coach Tillar and the Vikings defeated last year's Eastern Division Champion and spoiled their homecoming 16-12 in this weekend's action on the gridiron. The Vikings have taken sole possession of the Eastern Division with the win over Bowie State and remain a perfect 4-0 in the conference.