Football

CIAA Football Week in Review
For the week ending October 13, 2007 (Week 8) 

VIKINGS KNOCK OFF 20TH RANKED PANTHERS

RICHMOND, VA- Brandon Fields rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown and the defense forced four turnovers as the Elizabeth City State Vikings upset the 20th ranked Virginia Union Panthers 23-14 yesterday in Richmond.

The Vikings (3-4, 3-1, 2-0) converted two Panther miscues into touchdowns as they opened up a 20-0 first half lead.

Elizabeth City State's first score of the day came after the Vikings recovered a muffed punt deep in Virginia Union territory.  Two plays later, Fields scored from nine yards out and Daniel Mendez added the PAT as the Vikings open up a 7-0 lead. 
 
After extending their lead to 13-0 on a one-yard run by quarterback Dominic Strand, the Vikings would capitalize on another Panther turnover when defensive back Derrick Downey scooped up a fumble and returned it 42-yards for a touchdown as the Vikings led 20-0 at the half.
 
Virginia Union (6-1, 3-1) used a 24-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Little to Terence Cunningham and an 18-yard run by Tarian Donaldson to cut Elizabeth City State's lead to 20-14 after three quarters.
The Vikings would convert another Panther turnover into points when Mendez booted a 23-yard field goal to push their lead to 23-14.  The short field drive was set up when ECSU's Shawn Dickerson recovered a fumble by Donaldson at the Panther's 38-yard line.
 
Following a 13-play drive that ate up over seven minutes, but yielded no points, the Vikings turned the ball over to the Panthers on downs when their drive stalled at the VUU 15-yard line.  Little then went to work, completing five passes to four different receivers as he moved the Panthers down to the Viking's 25-yard line with less than a minute left in the game. But once again the Panthers were done in by a turnover. On the ensuing play, Viking DB Justin Hamilton picked off Little's pass at the one-yard line to seal the win and propel the Vikings into sole possession of first place in the CIAA's Eastern Division with a conference record of 3-1.
 
The Vikings will look to run their winning streak to four games next Saturday when they play host to Livingstone College while the Panthers will look to keep their division title hopes alive when they host Bowie State at the Gold Bowl Classic.

Conference Scoreboard

Elizabeth City State	23	Virginia Union	14
Fayetteville State	13	Saint Augustine's	10
Saint Paul's	23	Johnson C. Smith	13
Shaw	35	Livingstone	7
Virginia State	39	Bowie State	33

Standings

Upcoming Games:
October 20	Bowie State University	Virginia Union University	Richmond, VA	1:00pm
	Gold Bowl Classic
	Fayetteville State University	Shaw University	Fayetteville, NC	2:00pm
	Saint Paul's College	Saint Augustine's College	Raleigh, NC	1:00pm
		Homecoming
	Elizabeth City State University	Livingstone College	Elizabeth City, NC	1:30pm
	Homecoming
	Johnson C. Smith University	Virginia State University	Charlotte, NC	6:00pm