Big plays key in Shorter's 44-21 blowout of Edward Waters

Jacksonville, Florida -- The big play has become a staple of the Shorter University football program since its Mid-South Conference championship season in 2008. Noticeably absent over the past few weeks, the big play made a return for the Hawks on Saturday.

Shorter rushed for 343 yards and forced three turnovers as part of a 21-point second quarter in a 44-21 rout of Edward Waters College Jacksonville.

Kenny Foster ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns and T.J. Telfair chipped in with 66 yards and a score for the Hawks (5-3), who scored on three plays of 20 yards or more in rebounding from its worst rushing output in school history a week ago in a loss to Cumberlands

"We have to have big plays," said Shorter head coach Phil Jones. "When you run the ball as much as we do, you have to take advantage of big play opportunities when they present themselves. We did that today.

"I am proud to come down here and get a victory," Jones added. "What Edward Waters has done with that new staff and those talented players is amazing. You have to tip your hats to them."



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ECSU win streak runs to seven with 26-9 win over Chowan

MURFREESBORO, North Carolina -- Elizabeth City State University extended their win streak to seven games with a convincing 26-9 win over the Chowan University Hawks Saturday afternoon. ECSU took the game's opening drive 55 yards in 7 plays and scored on a 24 yard run by Kevin Swain.

The Vikings successfully kept the Hawks (2-7, CIAA 1-5) in check for the majority of the afternoon. A Rickey Jarman punt from the back of the end zone gave the Hawks the ball deep in ECSU territory and with 28 seconds left in the game Cameron Stover ran the ball in from 5 yards out for their lone touchdown of the day.

Their only other points came courtesy of a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Murphy with 14:47 left in the first half.

Aside from that, the ECSU defense terrorized Stover and the Hawk offense throughout the game. After throwing for close to 400 yards on his previous outing, Stover was limited to 195 yards on 14-41 passing. Most notably he was constantly under pressure all day and was ultimately sacked by Viking defenders on 8 different occasions.

Additionally the defense only gave up 62 yards on the ground. After leading 13-3 at halftime, Daronte McNeill punched in his second rushing score of the day in the third quarter for a 20-3 advantage. McNeill only went for 93 yards but had two rushing scores and is 12 yards away from becoming the Vikings' all-time leading rusher.

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VSU Trojans strike early defeating VUU Panthers on Homecoming

Petersburg, Virginia -- Senior running back, Antwain Lyde scored 2 early rushing touchdowns in a 39-14 win over rival Virginia Union University on Saturday, Oct. 29th in Rogers Stadium. Lyde led the Trojans with 26 rushes for 92 total yards.

The Trojans offense scored 4 touchdowns, the defense returned a 57 yard interception for another score, and senior kicker, William Rudd nailed a 44 yard FG to seal a homecoming victory for VSU. The Trojans rushed for 109 total yards and passed for 88 yards. Defensively, VSU forced one fumble and picked of 3 passes.



Senior defensive back, Howard Spencer, Jr. intercepted a pass from the VUU offense and returned it 57 yards giving the Trojans an early 22-0 lead with 1:31 left in the first quarter. Junior linebacker, Thomas Sykes and senior defensive back, Larry Armstead both had interceptions.

Junior quarterback, Jarred Battle threw a season high 2 touchdown passes against the Panthers. He finished the game7 of 8 passing for a total of 88 yards with a long of 25 yards to sophomore wide receiver, Dion Futch. Futch caught 4 passes for 47 yards and scored on an 11 yard catch in the third quarter. Sophomore wide receiver, Thaditguss Lewis caught 2 passes for 28 yards and also scored on a 10 yard pass from Battle.




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JCSU Golden Bulls Topped 44-23 by FSU in home finale

Charlotte, North Carolina – The Johnson C. Smith University football team came up short in a 44-23 loss against Fayetteville State University on Saturday afternoon inside the Irwin Belk Complex. JCSU moves to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the CIAA; the Broncos improve to 4-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference. The Golden Bulls had 16 seniors honored in their final performances on McGirt Field.

These two teams traded big play scores to start the contest. Fayetteville State scored first off a 47 yard pass from Chauncey Concepcion to Antonio Allen. JCSU quickly responded on the next drive with a connection from freshman quarterback Keahn Wallace (Homestead, FL) to junior receiver Matthew Jeffries (Gainesville, GA).

Wallace hit the receiver streaking and Jeffries went 60 yards downfield for the touchdown. FSU broke the 7-7 tie with a 41 yard field goal with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter.

The Golden Bulls' defense forced a safety in the second quarter off bad snap to Concepcion. Fayetteville State held a 17-9 lead at halftime. Ironically, a bad snap to Wallace inside the FSU 5-yard line led to a 70 yard fumble return for a touchdown.

JCSU was outscored 20-7 in the third quarter. Senior defensive back Lamarr Person (Atlanta, GA) returned a fumble 97 yards for a score to bring Johnson C. Smith within two possessions (30-16). The Broncos scored twice more after Person's return to account for the 44-23 final.

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Saint Augustine's 45, Livingstone 14

DURHAM, North Carolina — Livingstone’s football team fell to the Saint Augustine’s Falcons 45-14 on Saturday at Durham County Stadium.

Livingstone’s defense boosted the Blue Bears at the start the game by forcing a three-and-out and forcing a punt. The poor punt gave Livingstone field position at the Saint Augustine’s 46-yard line.

Livingstone then took a 7-0 lead on quarterback Craig Murdock’s 22-yard rush and his 24-yard TD pass to Carl James.

Saint Augustine’s tied the game on its third possession, a 15-play, 82-yard drive that spanned more than five minutes .

The Falcons extended their lead early in the second quarter with a 39-yard field goal.

A Murdock fumble handed St. Aug’s the ball on the LC 17, and the Falcons punched in another score for a 17-7 halftime lead.

Livingstone couldn’t move the ball at the outset of the second half, and Saint Augustine’s opened a 24-7 lead with a 16-play, 67-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock.

Another Livingstone fumble, this one recovered at the Blue Bears’ 21, led to another St. Aug’s TD and a 31-7 lead.

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Virginia University of Lynchburg Dragons knocks off Lincoln Lions

Roanoke, Virginia -- Mac Shinhoster rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns to lead Virginia University of Lynchburg to an 18-2 win over Lincoln (Pa.) on Saturday in the 12th annual Western Virginia Education Classic at William Fleming Stadium in Roanoke.

The victory was the Dragons third in their last four games, making coach Willard Bailey optimistic for the remainder of the season.

“You know, we have a chance to finish this season with a .500 record,” he said after the game. “That isn’t bad for a school that hasn’t had a team since 1954.”

While Shinhoster was sparking the offense, VUL’s defense shut down the Lions attack. The Dragons allowed just 110 yards in total offense, picked off three passes and had five quarterback sacks. The Dragons had been giving up an average of 25.9 points per game.

Lincoln’s lone score came on a safety in the third quarter when Tim Green tackled VUL quarterback Delonte Williams in the end zone.

VUL improves to 3-5 and has games against Concordia (Ala.) and George Mason remaining.

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GSU claims big SWAC win over UAPB Golden Lions

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas — Grambling State overcame an early deficit as the Tigers roared back in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship race, taking a 27-20 road win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday at Golden Lions Stadium.

The win evened Grambling's record at 4-4 and put the Tigers in the thick of the SWAC's Western Division race at 3-3. Prairie View A&M leads the SWAC West after losing Saturday at Jackson State, while UAPB is also 3-3.

"Give this whole team credit," GSU coach Doug Williams said following the contest. "The offense struggled but never gave up and finally got things moving for the comeback while the defense did the things it needed to do to help us get this win.

"And this was a big win in an emotional game and puts us right back in the SWAC race."




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