CIAA Football Weekly Preview: Week Seven

CIAA Preserving the Past, Defending Our Future
CIAA Football Weekly Release
Week Seven

October 5, 2011

Hampton, VA---Week Seven and it’s Homecoming for many CIAA teams, but with so many critical games on the schedule, teams can’t afford to lose focus and get caught up in the pageantry and hype. Nationally ranked # 16 Winston-Salem State looks like they may run away with the Southern Division, but the Rams have to remain focused. They were undefeated and riding high this time last season when their championship hopes were derailed by late season losses to Saint Augustine’s and Shaw.  The Northern Division is still up for grabs. With as many as four teams still in contention, it’s still anybody’s race. But the next three weeks should tell the tale. With crucial matchups between Northern Division frontrunners on deck, the division should start to sort itself out soon.

Game of the Week…Elizabeth City State Vikings (3-2, 1-1) at Virginia Union Panthers (4-2, 2-1)
The Vikings have played one of the toughest schedules in the league. They opened the season by taking 3rd ranked Delta State to overtime before falling 28-21.

They then gave #16 Winston-Salem State all they could handle before dropping a 22-17 decision. ECSU has reeled off three straight wins since their 0-2 start and are coming off a bye last week. The week off couldn’t have come at a better time for the Vikings. This week they embark on a three-week stretch, with games against Virginia Union, Virginia State and Bowie State, that may very well decide the Northern Division championship. ECSU is solid on both sides of the football, averaging 31.4 points a game while allowing just 19.8. After a slow start, tailback Daronte McNeill appears to be rounding into midseason form, averaging over 150 yards rushing in his last two games. Linebacker Dewitt Dixon is the leading tackler on a defense that yields just over 275 yards a game. The Panthers have been on an offensive tear of late, averaging 37.5 points over their last two games. The catalyst behind the spike in point production has been the play of senior quarterback Cheston Hickman, who has passed for 581 yards and four touchdowns in that two-game span. Hickman’s passing prowess has kept teams from loading up the box to stop the running game. The biggest benefactor of that move has been tailback Jerrell Washington who’s averaging 126.5 yards and has scored five touchdowns in his last two outings. The winner of this game stays in the hunt for the Northern Division title, while the loser may be on the outside looking in on the battle for the crown. This is Homecoming for the Panthers.

Kickoff is 1:00 pm at Hovey Field.

Bowie State Bulldogs (3-2, 2-2) at Fairmont State Fighting Falcons (4-1)
After back-to-back conference losses to Virginia Union and Virginia State, the Bulldogs travel to West Virginia to take on a tough Fairmont State team.

Although this game is not Homecoming, it is a Homecoming for Bowie State Offensive Coordinator Jason Woodman as he goes home to take on his alma mater.

Woodman who grew up in nearby Farmington, West Virginia, is a 2002 graduate of Fairmont State.  The Fighting Falcons of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference enter the game with a 4-1 record and winners of their last two. This is an intriguing non-conference match-up. From a statistical standpoint, the two teams are mirror images of each other. Bowie State averages 30.0 points a game, while Fairmont State is scoring 33.2 points. Defensively, the Bulldogs hold opponents to 19.0 points a game while the Fighting Falcons give up 18.6. Although the Bulldogs have dropped two decisive division games in successive weeks, there’s still a lot of football left to be played. A win this week could be a big confidence booster as the Bulldogs head into the remainder of their conference schedule. Game time is 7:00 pm Thursday at FSU’s Duvall-Rosier Field.

Chowan Hawks (0-3, 1-4) at Lincoln Lions (1-2, 1-4)
This game features a matchup of two of the newer members of the CIAA and will showcase two of the top young signal callers in the league.  Lincoln freshman quarterback Doug Cook leads the league in passing yards per game, averaging 261 yards a game. Cook has also thrown seven touchdowns. Calling signals for Chowan will be sophomore Cam Stover, who is third in the league at 225.5 yards a game.

Stover has thrown 10 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Catching passes from these two young guns are the CIAA’s three leading receivers in Lincoln’s Phillip Juste-Jean (37 catches/357 yards/2 TDs) and Chowan’s Kevin Hodrick (31 catches/361 yards/5 TDs) and Robert Holland (27 catches/431 yards/7 TDs). With all the offensive stars on the field, look for this to be a shootout.  Lincoln’s Homecoming kicks off at 1:00 pm.

Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls (2-3, 1-1) at Shaw Bears (1-4, 1-1)
Defending CIAA Champion Shaw picked up their first win of the season last week, outgaining Livingstone 465-33 en route to a dominant 54-0 victory. With a 1-1 conference record, the Bears are still in contention for the Southern Division title but will likely have to win out to have any hope of defending their CIAA title. The much improved Golden Bulls have turned out to be a more formidable foe than Shaw anticipated when they chose them as their Homecoming opponent. The Bulls average 26 points and 386 yards a game and knocked off Northern Division co-leader Virginia State three weeks ago. Both teams are chasing Southern division-leading Winston-Salem State and another conference loss would likely eliminate the loser from contention. Homecoming kicks off at 1:00 pm at Durham County Stadium.

Livingstone Blue Bears (1-4, 0-3) at Edward Waters Tigers (1-3)
The Blue Bears, fresh off a 54-0 loss to Shaw, travel to Jacksonville, Florida looking for their second win of the season. The two teams both posted their only win of the season over the first year program from Virginia University of Lynchburg.  Livingstone beat the Dragons 24-21 in overtime on September 24th, while Edward Waters picked up a 29-21 win on September 10th. Game time is 1:00 pm in Jacksonville.

Virginia State Trojans (3-2, 2-1) at Fayetteville State Broncos (1-4, 1-1)
Fayetteville State finally got into the “W” column when kicker Austin Turner booted a 34-yard field goal to give the Broncos a 31-28 overtime win over Saint Augustine’s. Tailback Colon Bailey scored two touchdowns and the Broncos’ defense held Saint Aug to 194 yards of offense to help pull out the win. The Broncos will need a similar performance to give returning alumni a Homecoming victory over the Trojans. Virginia State is riding high after an emotional 28-21 overtime win over Bowie State. The Trojans trailed by a touchdown with less than a minute left in the game before rallying for the win and a share of the lead in the tight Northern Division. In addition to it being Homecoming, this is also the CIAA TV Game of the Week. Kickoff is 6:00 pm at Luther “Nick” Gerald Stadium.

#16 Winston-Salem State Rams (5-0, 4-0) at Saint Augustine’s Falcons (2-3, 1-2)
The 16th ranked Rams are the hottest team in the league and have convincingly vanquished all challengers. Last week the Rams dispatched Johnson C. Smith in workmanlike fashion, using Nicholas Cooper’s 203 rushing yards to wear down the pesky Golden Bulls and get away with a 28-10 win. The Rams’ point production is down slightly from previous weeks, but they still average 45.6 points a game, good enough for 6th in Division II. Cooper is ranked third nationally, averaging 161 yards a game.  Up next for the Rams are the mercurial Saint Augustine’s Falcons.  Last week in a 31-28 overtime loss to Fayetteville State, the Falcons’ offensive unit struggled mightily against a FSU defense that allows over 400 yards a game. The Falcons finished with a paltry 194 total yards and five turnovers. With the offense misfiring, Saint Augustine’s used its defense to stay in the game, getting three touchdowns from the unit. The Rams’ league-leading defense will present a much more formidable challenge for a Saint Augustine’s team that’s 11th in the conference in total offense, but it’s unlikely the Rams will take the Falcons lightly. Last season WSSU came into this game undefeated and ranked in the national polls only to see the Falcons jump out to a 30-7 halftime lead and hold on for a 40-35 win that all but ended the Rams title hopes. The game is set for 1:30 pm at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium on the campus of North Carolina Central.