VIKINGS ESCAPE WITH 35-30 WIN OVER HAWKS

CIAA Football Week in Review
For the week ending September 19, 2009, (Week 4) 

VIKINGS ESCAPE WITH 35-30 WIN OVER HAWKS 

ROCKY MOUNT, NC-Wide receivers Casey Owens and Dexter Manley combined for 241 receiving yards and three touchdowns as the Elizabeth City State Vikings held off the Chowan University Hawks 35-30 in the 12^th Annual Down East Classic yesterday in Rocky Mount, NC.

The Vikings capitalized on costly turnovers and used big plays in their passing game to overcome a stellar performance by Chowan quarterback C.J. Westler. Westler, a preseason All-CIAA selection at quarterback, accounted for 536 yards of total offense (382 yards passing, 154 rushing yards) and four touchdowns to lead the Hawks in their upset bid.

Despite his heroics, the game came down to a costly turnover by the Hawks' senior quarterback.  Trailing 35-30 with a little over two minutes left in the game, Westler broke loose for a 52-yard run that moved the ball down to the Viking 5-yard line. Following an incomplete pass on first down, Westler was stripped of the ball on the next play as he tried to run it in from the 5-yard line. ECSU's Geno Trundle recovered the fumble, allowing the Vikings to run out the clock and preserve the win.

The Vikings got the first of several big passing plays on the first play of the game when quarterback Creven Powell hit Dexter Manley (2 receptions, 120 yards) for an 80-yard touchdown to give ECSU the early 7-0 lead. Elizabeth City State added a four-yard touchdown run by Cedric Blacknall and a 63-yard interception return by Kobi Williams to lead 21-10 at the half.

Chowan took the opening possession of the third quarter and put together a 14-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Westler to Kevin Hodrick that trimmed the lead to five points at 21-16.

ECSU needed one play to take back the momentum and again it was their vertical passing game, as backup QB Tashawn Lee hooked up with Casey Owens (2 receptions, 101 yards) on 45-yard touchdown to push the lead 28-16.

The Hawks would cut the lead to five points twice in the fourth quarter but Owens' second touchdown of the day, a 56-yarder from Powell, and Trundle's game saving fumble recovery allowed the Vikings to get out of Rocky Mount with the 35-30 win.

Next week, the Vikings (3-1, CIAA 1-0) will travel to Raleigh take on Saint Augustine's College, while Chowan (0-4, CIAA 0-1) travels to Richmond to take on Virginia Union

Conference Scoreboard

BOWIE STATE                      51                    LIVINGSTONE                         0
ELIZABETH CITY ST.           35                    CHOWAN                               30                   
FAYETTEVILLE ST.              24                    SAINT PAUL'S                         0                   
SAINT AUGUSTINE'S          27                    VIRGINIA STATE                   14                   
SHAW                                  68                    LINCOLN                                  6       
VIRGINIA UNION                34                    JOHNSON C. SMITH             14

NOTES OF INTEREST 

Notes of Interest:  The 68 points tied Shaw's single game record. Both Williams and Aaron Ellison had three rushing TDs, which tied that record as well. The six rushing touchdowns were a new single-game record for Shaw. 

Notes of Interest:  Bowie State set a new single record, rushing for an all-time high 456 yards and amassed a school record 594 total offensive yards. The old total offensive yards record was 505 set by the Bulldogs in 1975 versus Fairleigh Dickinson. BSU also tied a school record for first downs in a game, accounting for 25 which occurred in 1982 versus St. Paul's. 

Notes of Interest:  The Falcons gained a season-high 414 total offensive yards. 

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
2009 Football Standings
Through games of September 19, 2009

                                                CIAA EAST

                                                Div/Conf                                           Overall
----                                       W        L         PCT                W        L         PCT
Elizabeth City State            1          0          1.000              3          1          0.750
Bowie State                        1          0          1.000              2          2          0.500
Virginia Union                     1          0          1.000              2          2          0.500
Virginia State                      0          1          0.000              2          2          0.500
Saint Paul's                         0          1          0.000              1          2          0.333

                                                CIAA West

----                                       W        L         PCT                W        L         PCT
Shaw                                   1          0          1.000              4          0          1.000
Fayetteville State               1          0          1.000              2          2          0.500
Saint Augustine's                1          0          1.000              1          3          0.250
Johnson C. Smith                0          1          0.000              1          3          0.250
Chowan                               0          1          0.000              0          4          0.000
Livingstone                          0          1          0.000              0          4          0.000

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