Oct. 13, 2007
Final Stats
RICHMOND, VA- The Elizabeth City State University Vikings handed Virginia Union University their first defeat of the season, downing the Panthers 23-14 on their home field Saturday afternoon at Hovey Field.
With their third straight win, the Vikings (3-4, CIAA 3-1) move into first place in the CIAA Eastern Division. More good news came later as ECSU learned of Virginia State University's win over the Bowie State Bulldogs 39-33 in Petersburg, VA which leaves the Vikings in sole possession of first place with no losses in divisional play. The Panthers (6-1, CIAA 3-1) and Bulldogs (3-4, CIAA 3-1) will face each other next Saturday in Richmond at the 2007 Gold Bowl. Virginia Union, Bowie State and Virginia State (who will travel to Charlotte to face cross divisional foe Johnson C. Smith) are all in a three-way tie for second place, each sporting 1-1 marks in the division.
After last week that saw the Panthers roll up 414 rushing yards against Johnson C. Smith, the tables were turned on Saturday as Viking running back Brandon Fields posted career highs in carries and rushing yards with 30 touches for 168 yards. His rushing total eclipsed the total output for the Panthers by 24 yards (168 to 144). Virginia Union did better the total offensive productivity of the Vikings 388 to 287 but it was voided by 4 Panther fumbles, 3 of which were recovered by ECSU. Their first miscue of the day came after the Viking's first punt of the afternoon was fumbled by Melvin Edison and subsequently recovered by Lorinzo Lovely on the Union 34 yard line. Two plays later, ECSU capitalized with a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Fields and a 7-0 lead.
The Vikings would strike again after conducting a 15-play, 80 yard drive which was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Dominic Strand with 8:34 to go in the half. ECSU took a 20-0 lead, which would hold through the intermission, after the Panther's second fumble of the first half was forced, recovered and run back 42-yards for a score by Derrick Downey with 6:55 remaining.
The Panthers scored on their first two possessions of the 3rd quarter with drives that combined for 18 plays, 155 yards in just over 9 minutes to trim the ECSU lead to six points (20-14). Virginia Union's third fumble of the afternoon halted their momentum and resulted in Daniel Mendez providing some breathing room for the Vikings via a 23-yard field goal with 10:39 remaining in the game. After the Panther's subsequent possession went 3 and out, ECSU milked the clock for a decisive 7 minutes and 13 seconds much to the dismay of the Panther's home crowd. VUU did get the ball back with 2:03 on the clock and worked their way into Viking territory (ECSU's 25-yard line) yet a comeback's hopes were dashed as Justin Hamilton picked off Lamar Little's pass (his second errant throw of the day) on the Viking 1-yard line, sealing the win for ECSU.
The Vikings will return to action on Saturday, October 20th for Homecoming 2007 as the will take on Livingstone College at 1:30pm at Roebuck Stadium. For more information on ECSU Athletics, visit www.ecsuvikings.com.
