Oct. 4, 2008
Final Stats
ELIZABETH CITY, NC- The Elizabeth City State University Vikings returned home and captured a 35-7 win over Virginia State University Saturday afternoon at Roebuck Stadium.
The 35-point output was the Vikings largest scoring display since their season opening win over Chowan University (55-3) at Roebuck Stadium on August 30th.
Additionally the ground game set the tone early at the expense of the Trojans, with team season highs in rushes (47), yards rushing (260), yards per rush (5.5) and rushing touchdowns (3). They also set a new mark for the season with 21 first downs on Saturday and were 3-for3 in red zone chances.
The Vikings ran 60 plays for 396 yards of total offense against VSU. Not to be outdone the defense nearly pitched their first shutout of the season sans a third quarter 4-yard touchdown run by Nick Fleming at the 7:07 mark of the third quarter. Defensively Lorinzo Lovely led the Vikings with a career high 11 tackles along with a breakup and a quarterback hurry.
For the second straight week Reggie Smith put the Vikings first six (6) on the board via a punt return, this time a 48-yard scamper with 10:08 left in the first quarter. Just before the first quarter closed Joel McClenney made the score 14-0 with a 2-yard run which capped a 5 play 27-yard drive.
Curtis Rich, Jr. found the end zone three times on Saturday. One was a 46-yard juggling touchdown reception by Dexter Manley with 9:17 remaining in the first half. The other two were orchestrated by Rich's legs as he rushed for two scores, a feat he last accomplished ironically at against Virginia State nearly two years ago on October 7, 2006 at Roebuck Stadium. Rich finished the afternoon with a career high 62 yards rushing and threw for 136 yards on 9-of-13 passing.
Ricky Hill became the Vikings first 100-yard rusher of 2008 with precisely that amount on 12 carries.
For the Trojans (2-4, CIAA 1-2) freshman running back Taron Hampton finished with a game high 137 yards on the ground and linebacker Isaac Mitchell topped all defenders with a game high 13 tackles.
The Vikings (3-3, CIAA 3-0) will hit the road next week to take on Bowie State University. The televised game will kickoff at 1:00pm from Bulldog Stadium on the Bowie State campus. For more information on ECSU Athletics, visit www.ecsuvikings.com.
