DURHAM, North Carolina - The Chowan University football team picked up their first CIAA win of the 2012 season after a 49-35 victory over Shaw University on Saturday afternoon. Chowan improves to 2-2 on the season, and Shaw falls to 1-3.
The Hawk's offense was dominate on Saturday, fueled by
Cameron Stover's 220 passing yards in the contest. He connected with six different receivers, while completing 17-28 pass attempts.
Tim Hanson was unstoppable in the win, rushing for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
The Shaw Bears struck first in the game with a 30 yard field goal with 13:47 remaining in the first quarter. The Hawks quickly answered back after
JR Williams caught a 51 yard pass from
Cameron Stover to make the score 6-3. The point after attempt from
Alex Noboa was good, allowing the Hawks to take a 7-3 lead with 7:15 left in the first quarter.
Shaw tacked on another three points with 4:41 remaining in the quarter off a 20 yard field goal by George Mulumba to make the score 7-6.
The start of the second quarter was a little shaky, after Stover's pass for
Damian Ellis was intercepted by Shaw's Darnell Evans. The Hawks fought back, with
Brandon Whitaker snagging James Stallons' pass to get the ball back for the Hawks.
Tim Hanson's seven yard rush gave the Hawks the 13-6 lead. The ten yard touchdown drive took just two plays and was completed in 34 seconds. Noboa once again made good on the point after attempt.
The Hawks defense continued to hold down the Bears, forcing Shaw to settle for another field goal. Mulumba kicked a 33 yard field goal, his third of the half, with 8:30 left in the half to inch the score to 14-9.
The Hawks fumbled just seven seconds later, allowing the Bears to take over possession. Shaw took advantage of the miscue and James Stallons connected with Ta'Juan Brown for a 41 yard touchdown pass. The point after attempt from Mulumba was good, giving the Bears a 16-14 lead.
The Bears threatened again as Darius Moffett intercepted a pass from
Ryan Nolan (who took over for Stover) on the 28 yard line with 6:55 left in the half. Chowan quickly answered back as
Chris Morris intercepted a screen pass and took over deep in Shaw territory.
Ryan Nolan ran for three yards to score for Chowan with 5:30 on the clock. Noboa made good on the field goal attempt giving the Hawks a 21-16 edge over Shaw.
The Bears answered back on the next possession after Stallons threw a 14 yard touchdown pass to Marcus Hinson and a good point after attempt from Mulumba. The Shaw defense prevented Chowan from scoring, maintaining a 23-21 point lead heading into halftime.
The Hawks turned on the offense after halftime. Just a minute and a half into the third quarter, Chowan's
David Fulton picked Stallon's pass and ran for a 58 yard touchdown to open up the half. Noboa made good on the point after attempt allowing Chowan to take a 28-23 lead.
With a drive starting at 8:35 in the third quarter Stover through a 16 yard pass to
Antjuan Randall for a first down.
Tim Hanson rushed for the next three plays for a total of 16 yards, leading to a five yard rush by
Ryan Nolan and a 19 yard rush again from Hanson to score the touchdown for Chowan. Noboa made good on the point after attempt giving Chowan a 35-23 lead.
On the next possession, Shaw's Marquise Grizzle ran for 33 yards to give Shaw the first down. Stallons' then threw a 51 yard pass to Deangelo Ruffin, allowing Marquise Grizzle to rush for four yards, scoring a touchdown for the Bears. With 4:38 on the clock, and the score 35-29 in favor of the Hawks, Chowan's
Aeon Blake came up with the big play blocking Mulumba's point after attempt.
Chowan failed to score in their next possession, turning the ball back over to the Bears. With seconds left in the third quarter, Stallons threw a 42 yard touchdown pass to Marucs Hickson to tie the game 35-35. With Shaw in the driver's seat to take the lead, Stephen Guelff missed the point after attempt, and the game would remain tied going into the fourth quarter.
JR Williams returned Mulumba's kickoff for 15 yards setting up the Hawks for a series of big plays. Williams caught a 14 yard pass from Stover to get the first down for Chowan. Hanson followed up the play with a 68 yard rush leading to a touchdown to give CU a 41-35 lead. Noboa's consistency shown through making good on the point after attempt to make the score 42-35.
The Hawks' weren't satisfied with the seven point lead. With 6:23 remaining in the game,
Antjuan Randall started the Hawks' drive with a 13 yard rush to get the first down. Hanson rushed for five yards leading to an eight yard pass from Stover to
Damian Ellis. Stover connected with
Elliot Smalls for a 13 yard touchdown pass. Noboa made good on the point after attempt giving Chowan a 49-35 lead with 3:16 left to play.
The defense was able to keep Shaw off the board for the remainder of the game.
Chris Morris,
Devahn Murphy, and
David Fulton led the defense on Saturday collecting six tackles each. Morris and Fulton each had an interception in the win, along with James and
Brandon Whitaker. The defense also collected four sacks in the victory.
With the win the Hawks also move to 2-3 in the five year series against Shaw. Chowan returns home to take on the Fayetteville State University Broncos on Saturday September 29
th. Kick-off is set for 6:00 v pm.