Final Stats

ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. - Daquan Neal's 15-yard go-ahead touchdown run gifted the Elizabeth City State University Vikings a 28-21 victory over the Shaw University Bears at Roebuck Stadium, Saturday afternoon. The run capped a 9-play 56-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter at the 3:25 mark, giving head coach Earnest Wilson and the Vikings their first conference win on the season.

With the victory, ECSU moves to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), while SU falls to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

The contest was knotted up at the half, 7-7 with touchdowns from the Vikings James Roe and the Bears Karo Jefferson. Shaw's first drive was stalled by the Vikings' tenacious defense, before taking over at their own eleven-yard line. ECSU drove the field on its opening drive 89-yards in eleven-plays, taking a 7-0 lead over SU at the 2:48 mark in the first quarter.

Shaw scored its first points in the game off a 32-yard pass from Darron Downing to Karo Jefferson in the second quarter at the 8:13 mark, making it a 7-7 ballgame.

ECSU's Malcolm Cherry 22-yard pick six, gave Elizabeth City State a 14-7 lead at the 12:27 mark of the third quarter, but it was short lived. SU's next drive was taken 75-yards in 13-plays, knotting the game at 14-all. Uriah Bethea was the ball carrier of the three-yard touchdown run.

The Vikings added another score in the third quarter off an eight-yard pass from Neal to Davion Council, taking a 21-14 lead with 2:35 remaining. The Bears scored on their first drive to open up the fourth quarter, tying the game at 21-all.

Neal led ECSU offensively, completing 21 of his 27 pass attempts, throwing for 201-yards, and rushing for 56-yards on eleven carries. He was also accounted for passing (2) and rushing (1) touchdowns on the day. Jamie Williams had seven carries for 62-yards in the victory to lead all rushers.

Defensively, JaQuil Johnson led the Vikings with nine tackles. Jerrell Timmons added eight tackles. Five were tackles for a loss, one sack, and a fumble recovery. The team had 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, a fumble recovery, and a pick six on the day.

Keelan Jones led Shaw defensively with 12 tackles, while Downing led the Bears offensively with two passing touchdowns. He threw for 193-yards on 19 of 28 passing.

Elizabeth City State returns to action Oct. 8 when they travel to Petersburg, Va. to face Virginia State University at Rogers Stadium. Kick off is slated for 2 p.m.

Follow Elizabeth City State Athletics via its official website at: www.ecsuvikings.com to get pre and post-game stories and updates.