Nov. 1, 2008
Final Stats
ELIZABETH CITY, NC- The Elizabeth City State University football team handed Virginia Union University a 36-13 defeat Saturday afternoon at Roebuck Stadium.
Now with Shaw University's 62-35 win over Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte, the Bears and Vikings will square off for the 2008 Championship crown next Saturday at Durham County Stadium in Durham, NC. The Bears who captured the title in 2007 will have the chance to defend last year's win while the Vikings will be making their second trip in the past three seasons (2006) to the football Championship game.
Prior to the start of the game ECSU saluted 21 senior football student-athletes who were suiting up for the final game at Roebuck Stadium. Although the Vikings secured their place in next week's Championship game last Saturday, once the game began ECSU left little doubt as to whether they would be caught looking past the Panthers. On their very first play from scrimmage, Curtis Rich, Jr. found Dexter Manley for a 67- yard touchdown strike and an early 6-0 lead at the 14:39 mark. The Vikings finished the afternoon with 431 yards of total offense on 64 plays from scrimmage.
ECSU next found the end zone courtesy of a 44-yard interception return by Jeremiah Marable with 2:21 left in the first quarter. That would be the first of four times the Vikings would pick off Panther quarterback Lamar Little. Junior cornerback Justin Hamilton returned two interceptions for 53 yards and Paul Crews picked off a Little pass then tossed lateral to Rod Jones who took it 36 yards for a score with 8:00 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Vikings rolled up 141 yards in interception return yards on Saturday.
In his final home game before the Viking faithful Curtis Rich, Jr. was 12-for-21 with three touchdowns totaling 282 yards through the air, his fifth 200 plus passing game this season. Fellow senior Rod Jones finished his final game at Roebuck Stadium with a game high 14 tackles and a pass breakup.
The Vikings (7-3, CIAA 7-0) will seek the first football Championship since 1971 when they face Shaw University on Saturday, November 8th at Durham County Stadium in Durham, NC. For ticket information contact the CIAA Office at 757-865-0071 or visit www.theciaa.com. For more information on ECSU Athletics, visit www.ecsuvikings.com.
