CIAA Football Week 10 in Review

CIAA Football Week in Review
For the week ending November 1, 2008(Week 10) 

SHAW CLINCHES BERTH IN CIAA TITLE GAME

CHARLOTTE, NC -Aaron Ellison rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns as the Shaw Bears (7-3, 6-1 CIAA) clinched their second consecutive CIAA Western Division title with a 62-35 road win over the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls yesterday in Charlotte.

Ellison, who averaged 14.6 yards on 12 carries, scored on touchdown runs of 33 and 25 yards as the Bears opened up a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back.  The Bears extended their lead to 31-7 before JCSU (3-7, 2-5 CIAA) picked up some momentum when quarterback Carlton Richardson threw touchdowns of 60 and 28-yards late in the second quarter to cut Shaw's lead to ten at 31-21.  On the ensuing possession the Bears would answer right back as Lincoln Shepherd nailed a 56-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to push Shaw's lead to 34-21 at the half.

In the second half, the Bears used a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown from Robert Brown and two touchdown runs from Frederick Holliday, who was subbing for the injured Ellison, to hold off the Golden Bulls and secure their third CIAA title game appearance since 2004.

The Bears, who rolled up 289 rushing, also had a productive day throwing the ball behind Travis Robinson's 183 yards passing and two touchdowns, both to wideout Julius Gregory.

Up next for the Bears, a title game showdown with Elizabeth City State next Saturday at Durham County Stadium.

In other conference action...Curtis Rich threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns as the Elizabeth City State Vikings tuned up for the CIAA Championship game with a 36-13 win over division rival Virginia Union. Bryan Fields was on the receiving end of two of Rich's touchdowns as the Vikings (7-3, 7-0) won their sixth game in a row.  

Conference Scoreboard

BOWIE STATE                      21                    VIRGINIA STATE       16
ELIZABETH CITY ST.           36                    VIRGINIA UNION      13
FAYETTEVILLE STATE         55                    LIVINGSTONE           20
SHAW                                   62                    J.C. SMITH                35
SAINT AUGUSTINE'S           33                    CHOWAN                  31
SAINT PAUL'S                      23                    LINCOLN                  20 

CIAA Tie-Breaker Procedure

1.      Head-to-Head Competition
2.      Common Conference Opponents
3.      Coin Toss

Upcoming Game:

CIAA Football Championship Game
Elizabeth City State University vs Shaw University
November 8, 2008
Durham County Stadium
Durham, North Carolina
Kickoff- 1:00pm (EST)