Football

Panthers Stay in Title Hunt with Win Over Trojans

 Quarterback Lamar Little threw three touchdowns  and rushed for another score as Virginia Union kept its division title hopes alive with a 34-31 win over rival Virginia State in yesterday’s Gold Bowl in Richmond.  
 
The Panthers used a 22-yard field goal by Hugo Flores-Diaz and a 29-yard touchdown pass from Little (196 passing yards) to Steven Miller to open up a 10-0 lead after one quarter.   The Trojans responded with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that  ended when quarterback Lamar Blizzard connected with Jerome Choice on a 16-yard pass on the first play of the second quarter as Virginia State trimmed the lead to 10-7.  On their next possession, Virginia Union engineered a 12-play, 80 yard drive that effectively mixed the running of game MVP Elihu Smith (176 yards rushing) and the passing of Little, who capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.  Flores-Diaz added the PAT as the Panthers opened up a 17-7 lead on the Trojans.   Flores-Diaz would add his second field goal of the day, this time a 38-yarder, as the Panthers extended their lead to 20-7 with 4:15 left in the first half.  Following a 37-yard kickoff return by Donte Edwards, VSU finished off a 4-play, 52 yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Travis Valentine to cut the lead to 20-14 at the half.
 
On their first drive of the third quarter, the Panthers went to their ground game to grind out a 12-play, 70-yard drive in which Smith rushed for 63 yards. Smith popped long runs of 16, 16, 13, 8 and 13 yards to set up Little’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Herb Jones for a 27-14 VUU lead.  Blizzard’s second touchdown of day, an 11-yarder to Davian Richards cut Virginia Union’s lead 27-20 as the third quarter ended.
 
In the fourth quarter, Virginia State would cut the lead to 27-23 on Justin Buxton’s 32-yard field goal.  The Panther would respond with another big dose of Elihu Smith as he carried the ball six times for 49 yards, including big runs of 17 and 16 yards on back to back carries.  Little ended the drive with a 10-yard pass to Herb Jones for his third touchdown pass of the day and a 34-23 VUU lead with 3:33 left in the game.  On the Trojans’ final possession, Blizzard completed passes of 16, 21, 7, and 12 yards to move the ball down to the Panther one-yard line.  One the next play, he connected with Richards on a 1-yard scoring pass to trim the lead to 34-31 with 1:20 remaining.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Trojans tried an onside kick that was recovered by the Panthers who then ran out the clock.  
 
With the win, the Panthers improve to 6-2 and 4-1 and stay in contention for the Eastern Division title.   The Trojans fall to 1-7 and 1-4 in the CIAA.
 
 
Conference Scoreboard
 
Bowie State 24,Saint Paul’s 0
Elizabeth City State 36, Shaw 0
Johnson C. Smith 10, Fayetteville State 7
NC Central 31, Langston 21                    
Saint Augustine’s 31, Livingstone 16                    
Virginia Union 34, Virginia State 31                    
 

 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
October 21, 2006
 
 
Offensive Lineman
Ronnie McClary – Elizabeth City State, OT, 6’4”, 230, SR, Goldsboro, NC
            McClary protected the Vikings’ offensive unit which tallied 466 yards of total offense (310 passing, 156 rushing) and allowed no sacks as Elizabeth City State shutout Shaw University 36-0.
 
Receiver
Chris Carter – Elizabeth City State, WR, 5’9”, 190, SR, Winston-Salem, NC
            Carter continues to be in the right place at the right time for the Vikings as he hauled in 6 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s Eastern Division shutout of Shaw University. His longest reception of the game was a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
 
Offensive Back
Curtis Rich - Elizabeth City State, QB, 6’3”, 185, JR, Fort Washington, MD
            Rich picked apart the Bears’ secondary as he completed 19-of -31 receptions for a season high 310 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Vikings’ victory over Shaw. He also carried the ball 7 times for 49 yards.
            
Defensive Lineman
Omar Bizzell – Johnson C. Smith, LB, 5’11”, 210, SR, Raleigh, NC
            Bizzell had a game and career high 18 total tackles (5 solo, 13 assisted), including 4.5 tackles for a loss of 21 yards and 3 sacks for a loss of 18 yards as the Golden Bulls defeated Fayetteville State 10-7.
 
Defensive Back
Craig Amos – North Carolina Central, CB, 5’10”, 180, JR, Winston-Salem, NC
            In Saturday’s game against Langston University, Amos was all over the field as he hauled in an interception for his 5th consecutive game, had 3 pass breakups, blocked one field goal attempt and had 5 tackles (1 solo, 4 assisted) to help the Eagles remain undefeated on the season.
            
Rookie
Justin Hamilton – Elizabeth City State, DB, 6’1”, 195, Camden, NJ
            For the second week in a row, Hamilton has harassed the secondary of his opponent and earned the Rookie of the Week honors with his 3 interceptions returned for 20-yards and two solo tackles as the Vikings’ defensive unit shutout Shaw University 36-0.
            
Speciality
Hugo Flores-Diaz – Virginia Union, K, 5’10”, 187, SR, Woodbridge, VA
            Flores-Diaz accounted for 10 of the Panthers’ 34 points in Saturday’s Gold Bowl against Virginia State. He connected on 2 of 3 field goal attempts and 4 of 4 extra point kicks as Virginia Union downed the Trojans 34-31.
 
Coach
Rod Broadway – North Carolina Central   
            Coach Broadway and the Eagles remain a perfect 8-0 with this week’s 31-21 victory over Division I Langston University. The Eagles haven’t posted an 8-0 record since the 1941 season.