CIAA Football Preview - Week 6

CIAA Preview Week Six
October 1, 2008 

The Road to Durham and the CIAA Football Championship
"Bringing the Championship Game back to the Triangle"
The Championship Game - November 8 - Durham

WEEK 6 - DIVISIONAL PLAY BEGINS 

The CIAA Season has reached its midpoint and its most critical juncture...Divisional Play. Any hopes a team may have of reaching the Championship Game will hinge on their play within the division. Several critical matchups headline the weekend including rivals Shaw and St. Augustine's squaring off and the oldest rivalry in black college football, Johnson C. Smith and Livingstone.

GAME OF THE WEEK: SHAW AT ST. AUGUSTINE'S: This is one of the most fierce rivalries anywhere. The two campuses are separated by only a few miles but the rivalry runs deep. Shaw, the defending CIAA Champ, is looking to repeat but know that St. Aug will be hungry for an upset. Last weekend, the Bears buried Bowie State, 41-10, and sent notice to the rest of the league that the Championship will not be easily pried away from them. Bear QBs Marcus Brooks and Travis Robinson combined for 299 yards passing and three TDs against the vaunted Bowie State Defense. St. Aug opened the 2008 season with one of its biggest upsets, a road win over Catawba. However, the Falcons have gone 0-4 since and needs a win in order to keep their Championship hopes alive. Defensively, the Falcons are stout, and are ranked third in total defense. DLs Marcus Crump and Phil Stevenson are 1st and 2nd in sacks in the conference. Shaw DL Louis Ellis is beginning to establish himself again as the league's most dominant defender. (4:00 p.m. at Raleigh).

Players to watch: (Shaw: QB Travis Robinson; WR Lenell King; DL Louis Ellis).
(St. Augustine's: DL Phil Stevenson; RB Arnold Mullins; DB Mark Hall).

VIRGINIA STATE AT ELIZABETH CITY STATE: The Vikings earned a much needed win over St. Aug. After a brutal 0-3 road trip against South Atlantic teams, ECSU got back into the win column for the first time since Week One. The Viking Offense has been formidable, led by the resurgence of QB Curtis Rich. He has a sound receiving corps led by WRs Dexter Manley. The ECSU Defense is also opportunistic averaging nearly 3 turnovers per contest. Virginia State played admirably against Western Division heavyweight Fayetteville State. FSU had been rolling over opponents but had to fight tooth and nail to get out of VSU alive. RB Taron Hampton leads the way for the VSU Offense averaging nearly 130 yards per contest. This is a critical contest for both teams as ECSU looks to remain undefeated in the East and VSU looks to remain in the Eastern Division race. A second loss in the division may be crippling. (1:00 p.m. at Elizabeth City, NC).

Players to watch: (VSU: RB Taron Hampton; QB Leonard Johnson; WR Brian Berry).
(ECSU:  QB Curtis Rich; DL Larry Jones; DB Justine Hamilton).

ST. PAUL'S AT VIRGINIA UNION: Virginia Union had been playing the most impressive football in the league over the past few weeks. However, Chowan forced the Panthers into seven turnovers leading to 28 Chowan points. The normally sound passing game also struggled against Chowan. Nevertheless, the offense put up 51 points on their way to a more difficult than expected win. VUU looks to be more sure-handed against

St. Paul's. The Tigers bounced back into the win column with a 24-9 defeat of Johnson C. Smith. They will look to put their mark on the Eastern Division by knocking off the favorite Panthers in Richmond. St. Paul's is playing tough defense as they rank fourth in the conference in total defense. SPC DB Gregory Toler leads the league with three interceptions. (1:00 p.m. at Richmond).

Players to watch: (SPC: DB Gregory Toler; Marlon Buchanon, P; Emory Addison, PR).
(Virginia Union: RB Tarian Donaldson; QB Lamar Little; LB Brandon Smith).

LINCOLN AT BOWIE STATE: Lincoln played its best game of the season; nearly knocking off Livingstone for its first win against a CIAA opponent. Bowie State has no time to lick its wounds after last weekend's result at Shaw. One loss in the division puts the Bulldogs up against the wall...two losses will probably mean championship elimination. QB Jason Scott struggled against the stout Shaw Defense and will need to improve his play to defeat Lincoln. This is the much anticipated Prince George's Classic.
(1:00 p.m. at Bowie, MD).

Players to watch: (Lincoln: DB Anthony Bell; LB Daron Jones; QB Kareem Davis).
(Bowie State: DB Terence Peete; QB Jason Scott; KR Clifton Budd).

LIVINGSTONE AT JOHNSON C. SMITH: The oldest rivalry in black college sports will be renewed when JCSU and Livingstone square off Saturday. The first ever black college football game was played between Biddle (JCSU) and Livingstone in 1892. This season, the Blue Bears and the Golden Bulls will square off with the thoughts of keeping their fleeting championship hopes alive. Livingstone ended a two-year conference losing streak with their win over Lincoln. JCSU is still looking for its first win over a CIAA team this season. QB Carl Richardson and WR Jeremy Franklin are still one of the conference's pass-catch duos. RB Rashaad Flucker will lead the Livingstone offense.
(1:00 p.m. at Charlotte).

Players to watch: (Livingstone: RB Rashaad Flucker; William Graves, PR; Anthony Earles, LB).(Johnson C. Smith: WR Jeremy Franklin; QB Carl Richardson; DB Darius Johnson).

CHOWAN AT FAYETTEVILLE STATE: The Broncos survived a difficult test at Virginia State, 23-13, to remain undefeated in the conference. Bronco RBs Richard Medlin and Calvin Harris led an FSU rushing attack that amassed over 200 yards against the Trojans. Bryan Hardy, the FSU QB, chipped in 173 yards passing. Chowan may have played its best game of the year forcing VUU into seven turnovers and scoring 28 points against the rugged Panther Defense. They will look to keep up their momentum against the Broncos on Saturday. (6:00 p.m. at Fayetteville, NC).

Players to watch: (Chowan: QB CJ Westler; WR James Fox; WR Eddie Coard).
(FSU: QB Bryan Hardy; RB Calvin Harris: LB Terrel Allen).