Sunday, October 25, 2015

Chowan Hawks Hold off Elizabeth City State Vikings

MURFREESBORO,  North Carolina  -- The Chowan University football team earned a 24-20 victory over the visiting Elizabeth City State Vikings on Saturday afternoon.  The Hawks improve to 5-3 overall with the victory and advance to 3-2 against CIAA opponents.  The Vikings move to 4-3 on the year and drop to 2-3 in league play.  Chowan's win over Elizabeth City State was the Hawks' first divisional win of the season and marked the first win against the Vikings in program history. 

Elizabeth City State got on the board first in the contest using a 37 yard field goal by Jeff Flores.  Chowan promptly answered back on the next drive of the game, using a four play, 75 yard drive capped by an 18 yard touchdown run by Tyree Lee to take a 6-3 advantage.  Nick Hahula's point after attempt was successful, resulting in a 7-3 lead for the Hawks with 7:38 left in the first quarter.

With 1:55 on the clock before the start of the second quarter, Jordan Watkins connected with Damian Ellis on a 33 yard touchdown pass to push the Hawks ahead 13-3.  Hahula made good on the point after attempt, extending Chowan's advantage 14-3. 

Daquan Neal's two-yard touchdown rush with 8:37 remaining before halftime along with Flores' successful point after attempt capped a seven play, 43 yard drive for the Vikings and cut the deficit to 14-10.  Hahula took matters into his own hands with a 39 yard field goal with 5:31 remaining before halftime to push Chowan ahead 17-10. 
The Hawks' defense held the Vikings off in the remainder of the second half and held a 17-10 lead heading into halftime. 

After a scoreless third quarter, Elizabeth City State fought back with vengeance in the fourth, outscoring Chowan 10-7 in the final fifteen minutes of play.  The comeback proved to be too little too late as the Hawks held on to earn the 24-20 win. 

Khayree Lundy intercepted Watkins' pass at the Vikings' 15 yard line to shift the momentum in favor of Elizabeth City State with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter.  Neal then connected with Montario Hunter on a 48 yard pass to set up Ra'Sheed Rushing for a four yard touchdown run and Flores made good on the point after attempt to knot the score 17-17. 

At the midway point of the fourth quarter, Flores made good on a 38 yard field goal to restore the advantage to the Vikings.  Down but not out, the Hawks regrouped on the next drive with a seven play, 88 yard drive highlighted by Watkins 45 yard touchdown pass to Lee.  Hahula's point after attempt was good, leaving the Vikings trailing 24-20 with 6:12 left to play.

The Hawks and Vikings exchanged drives as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter.  With 34 seconds left in the game and the ball on the Hawks' 47 yard line, Vincente` Stafford intercepted Neals' pass at the 35 yard line to secure the victory for the Chowan Blue and White. 

The Vikings tallied 410 yards of offense over the course of the competition while the Hawks collected 343.  Rushing led the effort for Elizabeth City on the ground with 17 carries for 96 yards and one touchdown.  Neal completed 18-37 pass attempts for 256 yards while tallying 11 carries for 22 yards and one touchdown.  He connected with Lovie Banks-Rose eight times for 107 yards and Montario Hunter six times for 125 yards. 

Lee paced Chowan with 31 carries for 173 yards and one touchdown for the Hawks.  Watkins, in his first collegiate start, completed 12-19 pass attempts for 187 yards and two touchdowns.  Kaine Lombard and Anthony Elliott each grabbed four passes on the afternoon.  Lombard accounted for 50 receiving yards while Elliott totaled 38 on the afternoon.  Lee and Ellis tallied 58 and 41 receiving yards, respectively, and each caught one touchdown pass in the victory. 

Defensively, Darren Wilson led all players in the game with 13 tackles (seven solo, six assisted) followed by Stephen Williams with 10 tackles (seven solo, three assisted). Demetrius Newberry notched a team-high seven tackles (six solo, one assisted) and tallied two pass breakups while Roderick Lindsey also tallied seven tackles (six solo, one assisted) along with one breakup.

The Hawks return to action at Garrison Stadium on Saturday, October 31st as Chowan hosts Virginia State University.  The contest is Chowan's Homecoming Game and will also be Senior Day for the Hawks.  Kick-off is slated for 3:00pm. 


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COURTESY CHOWAN UNIVERSITY HAWKS SPORTS INFORMATION 

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