Balanced Offense Leads Shaw Past Charleston 44-14

DURHAM, North Carolina — Shaw University garnered 520 yards of total offense on the way to a resounding victory over Charleston (W.Va.) 44-14 Saturday afternoon at Durham County Memorial Stadium.

 

The Bears accumulated 244 yards on the ground and 272 through the air as a trio of Shaw starters announced their presence with outstanding performances.

 

Quinshon Odom started at quarterback for the first time in over a year, and turned in a 23 for 30 performance, good for 264 yards and four touchdowns.

 

"He was our general today," said Shaw head coach Robert Massey of his quarterback.  "He played the game we needed  him to play."

 

Twelve of Odom's receptions were to Kowaski Kitchens - making his debut for the Bears - who set the Shaw single game mark for receptions with his performance.

 

"I coached his high school coach in high school and he helped get him here.  I knew what kind of player he could be if given the chance," said Massey.  "I don't want to make excuses, but he could have done more if he weren't banged up."

 

The third of the offensive triumvirate was running back Marquise Grizzle, who had 147 yards on 26 carried and two touchdowns.  He averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

 

"Grizzle and our running game was strong today," said Massey. "We knew the offensive line was a strength and we felt certain we could run behind them."

 

The Shaw defense held the Golden Eagles to only 148 yards - and only 59 yards through the air.  But that doesn't mean Massey didn't find something to complain about.

"That was too many points," he said.  "We have to stop the running game and force them to pass.  Our strength is in the backfield and we need to play to that."

 

Massey also felt the team let down in the second half.  "We started celebrating at the half like we'd won something.  That's not good football."

 

The game started off well for the Bears, as Charleston muffed the opening kickoff with Shaw's Tavarjia Fuller recovering the ball.  Five plays later - four runs by Grizzle, followed by a 19-yard pass to Kitchens - and the Bears had drawn blood and led 7-0 with just over two minutes gone in the game.

 

With five minutes left in the first quarter, and with Shaw still holding a 7-0 lead, Charleston started a drive that would take them into the second quarter, covering 73 yards in 12 plays, topped by a John Knox 17-yard rush that knotted the score at seven.

 

The score seemed to wake up the Bear offense, as they scored touchdowns on their next five drives, while the Shaw defense held the Golden Eagles to only one yard total in their next five possessions.

 

Grizzle scored the next two touchdowns for the Bears, rushing for nine yards on the first possession, and then breaking off a 25-yard run down the left sideline for his second touchdown of the afternoon.  A missed extra point meant that Shaw held a 20-7 lead.

 

After the Shaw defense held Charleston to only six yards on their next drive, the Bears took possession of the ball at their own 46.  Odom completed four passes on the drive, culminating in an eight-yard strike to Kitchens that made the score 27-7 with less than a minute left in the half.

 

The Bears opened the second half with the ball and Grizzle and Odom combined to cover 69 yards in seven plays, punctuated by 23-yard pass to Kitchens for a critical first down and concluding with a 17-yard strike to David Jordan that gave Shaw - after the extra point - a 34-7 lead.

 

On the first play of the Golden Eagles' next drive, Shaw's Darnell Evans picked off Maurice Leak's pass, returning it to the UC 12.  With the pick, Evans tied the Shaw career mark with 17 interceptions in his three years and one game as a Bear.

 

Two plays later, Odom connected with Tyrone Craig on a 13-yard route that gave the Bears a 41-7 lead with 10:23 left in the third.  The Bears would add a 26-yard field goal from Andres Magallon to up their total to 44.

 

With Shaw playing mostly their second team in the fourth, Charleston put together a nine-play, 69 yard drive to score a touchdown that set the final score to 44-14.

 

Odom connected with six different receivers, with Kitchens hauling in 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns, Jordan with five receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown, and Craig with two catches for 25 yards and a touchdown.

 

Marquise Stephens was the Bears' second leading rusher with ten attempts for 54 yards.

 

Defensively, 22 Bears recorded at least one tackle, with three Bears - Fre'Shad Hunter, Darius Moffett and Evans - each collecting five.  Evans had a tackle for a loss as well as his interception.  Francisco Marion had two sacks on the day for a loss of 19 yards.

 

Leak and Knox split time at quarterback for the Golden Eagles, with Leak struggling, hitting only four of 12 attempts, and Knox hitting three of four passes for 30 yards.  Knox was the leading rusher for Charleston with 39 yards.

 

Defensively, Justin Avery had ten tackles to lead the Golden Eagles.

 

The Bears now take to the road for three straight games, beginning next week when they travel to Richmond to take on Virginia Union on Saturday.  Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.  Shaw returns home on Saturday, October 5 when they host Virginia State in a 1:00 p.m. contest.

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