CIAA Football Week in Review
For the week ending November 6, 2010, (Week
11)
November 7, 2010
RALEIGH, NC-To use an overused sports cliché, the game
between the Shaw Bears and the Saint Augustine’s Falcons was
billed as a “brawl for it all”. On the line was city
bragging rights, the Southern Division title, and a berth in the
CIAA Championship game. Clichés aside, the game lived
up to its billing as the Bears slugged out a 10-6 win over their
cross-town rivals to clinch the division title and earn a spot in
next’s Saturday’s conference title game against
Virginia State. Tailback Raymond Williams (137 yards rushing)
scored the game-winning touchdown from 35-yards out with 3:20 left
in the game as the Bears rallied to edge the Falcons and earn their
third divisional title in four years.
Both teams came into the contest armed with high-octane offenses,
each averaging better than 30 points per game. But it was the
defense that dominated. Shaw, who came into game averaging 398
yards of total offense per contest, was limited to just 175 yards
on the day, while the Falcons, who averaged 332 yards, could only
muster 219. With suffocating defensive pressure being applied by
both teams, points were hard to come by. Shaw got the lone score of
the first half on a 26-yard field goal by Caleb Reid late in the
second quarter as the Bears led 3-0 at the half. Saint
Augustine’s was fortunate to only trail by a field goal after
turning the ball over three times in the first half.
Saint Augustine’s went three and out on their first two
drives of the second half. Their third drive started at the
Bears’ 41-yard line when the Falcons’ Joseph Reed
recovered a fumble by Shaw’s Antonio Dunn. Saint
Augustine’s was able to put together its first sustained
drive of the quarter, moving the ball down to the Bears’
26-yard line. But the Falcons came away with no points when the
drive bogged down and they were forced to attempt a 43-yard field
goal that was blocked and Shaw took their 3-0 lead into the final
quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Saint Augustine’s got their first and
only score of the game on quarterback Joaquin Green’s 1-yard
run. The PAT was no good and the Falcons led 6-3 with 12:28 left in
the game. The Falcons got the ball right back when Chris
Tucker picked off Shaw’s Kevin Atkins’ pass attempt on
the next series. Saint Augustine’s used eight plays to move
the ball down to the Bears’ 27-yard line. Facing fourth down
and
three and with problems in the kicking game, the Falcons gambled
and put the ball in the hands of CIAA leading rusher Walter Sanders
to pick up the first down. Sanders, who finished with 107 yards
rushing, was dropped for a loss and fumbled the ball which was
recovered by Shaw’s Rico Brown at the Bears’ 36-yard
line with 4:29 remaining in the game. On the ensuing
possession, Williams had runs of 9 and 20-yards on successive plays
to get Shaw down to the Falcon 35-yard line. On the next play,
Williams broke loose for what would prove to be the game-winning
score, a 35-yard run. Reid added the PAT and Shaw led 10-6 with
3:20 left in the game. The Falcons got the ball back two more times
with a chance to pull out the win. The first drive ended when Green
was intercepted by Shaw’s Chris Martin after the Falcons had
gotten the ball down to the Bears’ 35-yard line. Their last
drive ended when Green’s final shot at the end zone from the
50-yard line fell incomplete as time expired.
The win improves Shaw’s record to 8-2 overall and 7-0 in the
CIAA and gives them a shot at their fourth conference title since
the championship game was resumed in 2000. The Falcons finish the
regular season at 8-2, 6-1. Next Saturday, the Bears will
travel to Durham County Stadium to take on Northern Division
champion Virginia State (8-2, 6-1) in the CIAA Championship
game.
Conference Scoreboard
| BOWIE STATE | 59 | CHOWAN | 19 |
| ELIZABETH CITY STATE | 36 | LINCOLN | 6 |
| FAYETTEVILLE STATE | 44 | VIRGINIA UNION | 28 |
| JOHNSON C. SMITH | 26 | LIVINGSTONE | 13 |
| SHAW | 10 | SAINT AUGUSTINE’S | 6 |
| VIRGINIA STATE | 34 | SAINT PAUL’S | 14 |
November’s Upcoming Game:
| 13 | Virginia State University vs Shaw University | Durham, NC | 1:00pm |
40th Anniversary CIAA Football Championship Game
Durham County Stadium