Central Arkansas 47, Elizabeth City State Vikings 20

Conway, AR - University of Central Arkansas wide receiver Kenneth Robey, a cameo guy at best last season, became a star Thursday night. Robey, a 5-foot-9 receiver who had no career receptions, caught nine passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns in putting the Bears on the upside in a real roller-coaster ride of a 47-20 victory over Elizabeth City State before 9,121 at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

Robey caught touchdown passes from both starting quarterback Nathan Dick and backup Wynrick Smothers. Nathan Dick rolled up Nathan Brown-type statistics the first half, completing 21 of 26 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns in leading UCA to a 27-14 lead at the half. He finished 26 of 35 for 351 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 32 more yards.

Robey caught passes of 10 and 63 yards from Dick and nine on a rollout pass from Smothers, who set up a key touchdown with a 16-yard run. Nine different receivers caught passes for the Bears.

Last Week: Inside the Game - JCSU vs. ECSU



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ECSU Vikings takes opener over JCSU 45-27

ELIZABETH CITY, NC- Elizabeth City State held off an upstart Johnson C. Smith football squad for a 45-27 win in their season opener at Roebuck Stadium Saturday evening.

After holding a 24-7 lead at the intermission, the Golden Bulls seized the momentum in the second half reeling off 14 unanswered points via two touchdown tosses from Golden Bull quarterback Ryan Carter. The Vikings got some much needed breathing room on the Golden Bulls' next drive when an errant Carter pass was picked off and returned 33 yards for a score by Devon Price with and 3:40 remaining in the third quarter the Vikings led by ten, 31-21.

ECSU extended their lead in the fourth quarter when Cedric Blacknall's first of two rushing scores capped an 11 play, 82 yard drive with 12:29 left in the contest. JCSU (0-1, CIAA 0-1) broke the scoring plane again on a 3-yard touchdown run by Archie Barrow at the 7:32 mark. However all hopes of a late comeback were dash when Billy Wiggins returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards to the Golden Bull 30 yard line, setting up a 3 play drive which Blacknall finished with his second 3-yard TD of the evening for the final point spread.

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This could be the year for ECSU

Elizabeth City State’s football team has come so tantalizingly close. In 2006, a last-second, 51-yard field goal sank the Vikings in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship game. In 2008, ECSU was thumped by a very talented Shaw team in the league title game. Last year, a coin flip cost the Vikings a third trip in four years to the CIAA finale.

After all of that, ECSU coach Waverly Tillar thinks this might finally be the year.

“I think we went out this year from a recruiting standpoint and got the pieces we need,” Tillar said. “When I say ‘the pieces,’ I mean the quality depth. Last year, our Achilles heel was midseason, we got banged up and we didn’t have quality guys to come in a keep it going. We have it going on this year. I feel the games we’ll win will be in the trenches.”

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Elizabeth City State Vikings' Manley back for final season

ECSU Manley,#5 averages an insane 23.9 yards per catch over his career.

NFL scouts are already familiar with Elizabeth City State wide receiver Dexter Manley. In fact, most thought he was a senior and would be coming out for 2010 draft, but it turned out Manley had one more year of college eligibility left. Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association foes wish he had left. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Manley, now really a senior, leads an explosive Vikings offense that averaged 32.5 points per game in 2009.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to coach guys that were athletic and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach guys that were smart football players. He is the rare combination of both,” ECSU offensive coordinator Alvin Parker said. “He knows what’s going on totally with our scheme and he’s athletic enough to make any play out there on the field.”

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Incoming ... Bonner comes to ECSU

Elizabeth City State’s basketball team is starting to look like an Atlantic Conference all-star team. Perquimans’ Michael Bonner is the latest former star of the 1A conference, now known as the Four Rivers, to join the Vikings, transferring from Winston-Salem State. Earlier this year, former Camden star Ricky Krainiak transferred to ECSU from Campbell, joining last year’s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Rookie of the Year Angelo Sharpless of Plymouth.

Being close to home and the presence of Sharpless and Krainiak influenced Bonner’s choice of schools. “ECSU is a very good place,” said Bonner, the 2007-08 Daily Advance Player of the Year. “Coach (Shawn) Walker is a really cool guy and from what I hear, he is an excellent coach. Angelo Sharpless, I played with him in high school. Ricky Krainiak, I played with him in high school. We all have that bond already. It’s a beautiful school and my family is around here and my church is around here.”

After Bonner experienced a rough freshman season, Winston-Salem coaches decided to redshirt the 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard last season, a choice that confused the Hertford native.

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