NCCU Football Defeats Gardner-Webb to Extend Record Home Win Streak DURHAM, N.C. – No. 25 North Carolina Central University amassed 409 yards of total offense, including a season-high 333 passing yards by freshman quarterback Chauncey Caldwell, to lift the Eagles past Gardner-Webb University by a score of 24-17 inside O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The nationally-ranked Eagles extend their school record home win streak to 11 games. Sophomore wide receiver Xavier McCoy made the most of his three catches, finishing with 139 receiving yards, including an 89-yard touchdown on the third-longest pass play in NCCU history. Senior receiver Jacen Murphy collected a game-high seven receptions for 64 yards, while freshman Nique Martin caught three passes for 66 yards with a 57-yard touchdown. Defensively, safeties Davanta Reynolds and Alden McClellon topped NCCU with eight tackles apiece. The lone takeaway by the Eagles was a fumble recovery by linebacker De’Niro Laster that was forced by defensive end Kawuan Cox to halt the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ opening drive of the contest. NCCU’s kicking game played a big factor in Saturday’s outcome. Aedan Johnson made a 40-yard field goal and Nathaniel Tilque placed five of his seven punts inside the 10-yard line with a long of 52 yards. Gardner-Webb (1-5) was led by senior quarterback Tyrell Maxwell, who accounted for 303 total yards with 138 yards passing and 165 yards and two touchdowns rushing. Linebacker Kenyatta Dunbar recorded 10 tackles with a sack and an interception. Up next, NCCU (5-1) returns to MEAC action by hosting Norfolk State University on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. The Eagles have won 18 consecutive conference games.

FSU Broncos Stampede Golden Bulls 41-16 in the Queen City Charlotte, NC – Fayetteville State University worked over Johnson C. Smith 41-16 on the Eddie C. McGirt Field to improve to 2-0 in the CIAA Southern Division and 2-2 in conference play. Stevie Green (Washington, NC) carried the Broncos for 120 rushing yards with three (3) touchdowns and Richard Latimer (Charlotte, NC) returned home to throw for 147 yards on 11 of 20 passing. Latimer also ran for 27 yards. FSU finished with 388 yards of total offense in 70 plays. Green opened the game with his first TD with an eight-yard run that capped an eight-play 77-yard drive with 8:04 on the clock. He later scored prior to end of the first quarter with 1:12 remaining on a nine-yard run. Green scored the Broncos final points of the game with a 14-yard score with 9:28 left in the third quarter. Donshel Jetton (Mooresville, NC), who finished with 63 yards rushing and two (2) touchdowns, scored his first with an eight-yard run with 5:26 left in the first quarter. He would later score in the third quarter (13:38 on the clock) with a six-yard run. Darnell Walker (Charlotte, NC) carried the ball five times for his home crowd for 21 yards. His longest rush of nine yards was when he crossed the goal line for a touchdown. Johnson C. Smith’s Desmond Dozier scored the Golden Bulls first points of the game with a 92-yards kickoff return; the point-after attempt was wide left. The JCSU’s defense put points on the board with a safety by David Francis. The Golden Bulls managed a scoring drive in the fourth quarter when Harold Herbin rushed three yards into the end zone to cap a six-play 38-yard drive. JCSU converted the two-point attempt. Fayetteville State will host Saint Augustine’s for its homecoming next Saturday at 2:00 pm. The Falcons pulled off a 17-14 upset over two-time defending CIAA Champs Winston-Salem State, today.

#14 Bowie State Bulldogs Fall 47-35 at Division Foe Virginia State Trojans ETTRICK, Va. – Big plays and turnovers were costly for Bowie State as host Virginia State celebrated Homecoming with a 47-35 victory over the previously unbeaten and 14th ranked Bulldogs. With the loss, Bowie State’s record goes to 6-1 overall, 3-1 CIAA and 1-1 in the North. Virginia State remains perfect at 6-0 overall, 4-0 CIAA and 2-0 North. The Bulldogs were led offensively by junior Amir Hall (Bowie, Md.) with 281 passing yards, completing 29-of-48 passes wi. Redshirt senior Brandon Britton led all receivers with 131 reception yards on 11 catches. Senior Robert Chesson (Annapolis, Md.) carried the ball 16 times for 87 yards. Virginia State racked up 596 total yards of offense compared to 381 for Bowie State. Junior Derrick Tate (Baltimore, Md.) was Bowie State’s leading tackler with nine and redshirt freshman Tevin Singleton (District Heights, Md.) added eight tackles in the setback. The duo of Trent Cannon (Hampton, Va.) and Cordeiral Cook (Atlanta, Ga.) led the way offensively for Virginia State’s Trojans. Cannon rushed for 234 yards on 19 carries while Cordeiral completed 13-of-21 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Cordeiral also rushed for three touchdowns. Virginia State scores on their first possession, on a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Cook at the 9:31 mark of the first quarter. The extra point was missed and the Trojans led 6-0. Bowie State answered at the 3:15 mark of first quarter, when Hall connected with Geordan Clark (White Plains, Md.) for a 24-yard score to give the advantage to the Bulldogs at 7-6. Cannon exploded down the Bowie State sideline and rumbled for a 93-yard touchdown run, to give Virginia State a 13-7 advantage with 2:56 left in the first quarter. Another big play for Virginia State leads to a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Blair Wynn, pushing the Trojans lead to 20-7. Hall to junior Lansana Sesay (Bowie, Md.) 23-yard touchdown at the 13:40 mark of the second quarter and Carson’s PAT was good to trim the Bowie State deficit to 20-14. Virginia State scored on yet another big play with 12:16 remaining in the second quarter when Cook connected with Carlton Campbell for a 55-yard score to give Virginia State a 27-14 advantage. Hall found Britton wide open in the back of the Trojans end zone from 7-yards out to cut the Trojans lead to 27-21 with 8:31 remining in the second quarter. After a scoreless third quarter Virginia State’s Cook scored on 6-yard run to set the score at 33-21 Trojans at the 13:21 mark if the fourth quarter. The Trojans ran a trick play with Cook finding a wide open Joshau Harris (King Williams, Va.) for 36-yard touchdown. The kick was blocked but recovered by the Trojans Cullen Marshall (Suffolk, Va.) who converted the two-point conversion to pad the Virginia State lead at 41-21. Bowie State cut into the Virginia State lead again with 8:13 remaining in the game on a Hall to Britton 15-yard pass and catch. Carson’s extra point was good but the Bulldogs trailed 41-28. Cook scored his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon at the 4:46 mark of the fourth quarter, this time for a 56-yard touchdown, to give Virginia State at 47-28 cushion. Bowie State was not quite down as Hall hooked up with Deron Smith (Bowie, Md.) for a 17-yard touchdown with 2:51 left, but the Bulldogs still trailed 47-35. The Bulldogs welcome the Virginia Union University Panthers to Bulldogs Stadium next Saturday (10/21) for a key CIAA Northern Division. Kickoff time is set for 1 p.m.

Rams Fall Victim to a Late Comeback in 17-14 Loss at Saint Augustine's WSSU totals 304 yards in hard-fought road loss RALEIGH, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (4-3, 2-2 CIAA) gave a valiant effort, but the team just ran out of time in a tough 17-14 loss to the Saint Augustine’s Falcons (3-4, 4-1 CIAA), Saturday afternoon in the Tackle Breast Cancer Day Game. Though saddled by some key injuries, the Rams took an early fourth quarter lead, but the team could not hold off a late comeback by the Falcons in the tough loss. The Rams had a solid overall effort in the game, but the team could find enough points to keep the Falcons at bay. As a team, the Rams totaled 304 yards of total offense in the game with a pair of touchdowns while holding Saint Augustine’s to just 248 yards and a pair of touchdowns. WSSU senior wide receiver Canard Brown led the way for the Rams with 136 yards on 10 catches with a touchdown in the game. Redshirt-junior running back Kerrion Moore totaled 87 yards with a touchdown. Redshirt-junior Rod Tinsley completed 19-of-29 passes with a touchdown and an interception. The game was an early defensive struggle with both teams struggling to find first half points. After both teams went scoreless in the first quarter, the Falcons struck first with a touchdown and PAT kick with 13:34 left in the second quarter. The Rams were able to answer later in the quarter when Brown took a 35-yard touchdown pass from Tinsley. The PAT kick was blocked to leave the Rams trailing, 6-7 with 8:54 left in the half. The score would hold up until halftime. The Rams answered in the third quarter when the team went on an eight-play 72-yard drive that was capped by a Moore touchdown with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter. Along with the two-point conversion, the Rams went ahead, 14-7 over the Falcons. The two teams would turn up their defensive efforts to take the score into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Rams, the team fell victim to a fourth-quarter surge by the Falcons. After stalling the Falcons and forcing a 30-yard field goal with 10:14 left in the game, the Rams could not put any insurance points. After SAU’s starting quarterback left the game due to an injury, the Falcons’ back-up quarterback came in to throw a nine-yard touchdown pass with 00:29 left to play. The Rams would make a valiant late drive that saw the team go 15 yards, but the team could not get the score that they needed to win the game. With the loss, the Rams fall to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) play. The team also fell to 1-1 in CIAA Southern Division play. The Rams will return to the road for their next action when the team heads to nearby Salisbury, N.C. to take on the Livingstone Blue Bears in a 1:00 p.m. game

Hawks Football Stalls Against Virginia Union RICHMOND, Va.- The Chowan Football team suffered a 35-10 setback against Virginia Union on the road in CIAA Northern Division action on Saturday afternoon. THE BASICS FINAL | Chowan 10, Virginia Union 35 RECORDS | Chowan 2-5 (2-2), Virginia Union 5-2 (3-1) LOCATION | Richmond, Va. (Hovey Field) INSIDE THE BOXSCORE Tyrell Freeman paced the offense with a career-high 185 yards rushing. Freeman's 185 yards rushing is seventh most in program history. Bryce Witt completed 19-of-35 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. Witt was picked off twice and sacked twice. Ra'Cee Lucas hauled in two catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Herman Dupas Jr. caught six passes for 56 yards. Bryan Bryant led the Hawks defensively with seven tackles. Dre Terry notched six tackles. HOW IT HAPPENED 1st Quarter: Virginia Union received the opening kick-off and returned the kick to midfield. The Panthers used two plays to jump on the scoreboard just 45 seconds into the contest. The next Panther possession had the Hawks down 14-0 as VUU completed a 52-yd swing pass for the touchdown. Chowan's second drive of the game featured Tyrell Freeman as the workhorse recording 44 yards on the ground to put the Hawks in the redzone. The drive stalled at the VUU 13. Connor Killeen would miss the 30-yd field goal attempt to the left. 2nd Quarter: Tyrell Freeman sparked the drive with back-to-back first down runs gaining chunks of 11 and 21 yards to put the Hawks just outside the redzone. Once again the Hawks drive stalled in the redzone and had to settle for a field goal. Connor Killeen's 25-yd attempt sailed through the uprights to cut into the Panther lead 14-3. Marcus Devin picked off his third pass of the season as the Panthers were driving into Hawks' territory. Devin's interception gave the Hawks momentum as three plays later, Bryce Witt found Ra'Cee Lucas on a deep ball for a 64-yd touchdown reception cutting the deficit to 14-10. On the next possession, Bryce Witt was intercepted at the VUU 34. Virginia Union would march down the field on a 12 play 69 yard drive to end the half with a touchdown to lead 21-10 at the half. 3rd Quarter: The second drive of the half for the Hawks looked promising as the Hawks moved the ball inside the redzone. Bryce Witt connected on 4-6 for 45 yards but a sack and two penalties stalled the drive. The Hawks were unable to convert on fourth and goal. On the next Hawks drive, Bryce Witt was intercepted near midfield and returned to the CU 27 setting the Panthers up with good field position. 4th Quarter: The Panthers would need three plays to find the endzone grabbing a chunk of the yards on the ground before the 28-10 lead. VUU extended their lead to 35-10 with 11:18 remaining in the contest after a quick three play 66 yard drive. Chowan moved the ball on their next drive aided by three defensive penalties. Tyrell Freeman reeled off a 26-yd rush followed by a personal foul penalty on VUU spotted the ball at the VUU 9. Bryce Witt rushed to the VUU 1 but an incomplete pass and two rushes for no gain stymied the Hawks at the goal-line. The Hawks would get the ball back after a VUU punt, but Virginia Union's defense forced a fumble three plays later. In their own territory, Chowan's defense stepped up as Wayne Pittman forced a fumble and recovered the fumble at the CU 14. It took the Hawks six plays to get the ball down the field as Bryce Witt connected on five straight passes. Witt found Herman Dupas for 18 yards along with Ra'Cee Lucas for 19, Torry Baker for 16 and Aaron Mathews for 22 yards to get the ball to the VUU 10 for first and goal. Virginia Union would bend but not break as the Panther defense had a strip sack that ended the game. UP NEXT Chowan returns home for the first time in three weeks as the Hawks host Elizabeth City State on October 21 for Homecoming. Kick-off is slated for 3pm.