ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Virginia Union powered past Elizabeth City State, 53-0, to spoil the Vikings' homecoming and final game of the season in Roebuck Stadium.

Sophomore running back Tabyus Taylor had touchdown runs of one, two, 80 and 24 yards as the Panthers (6-2, CIAA 4-1) reached the endzone on each of their first five possessions while blocking two punts for safeties to sprint out to a 38-0 lead during the first 20 minutes of the contest. A 29-yard field goal by sophomore Jefferson Souza pushed the Virginia Union lead to 41-0 on the final play of the half.

Taylor rushed for 208 of his 231 yards on 19 carries in the opening half while senior quarterback Darius Taylor completed eight of 17 throws for 156 yards including a 53-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Jewison Dawkins.

Souza added field goals of 38 and 31 yards and sophomore running back Rodney McKay dove in from a yard out in the third period to cap the scoring.

The Vikings' best chance to score came five minutes into the fourth quarter when senior defensive back Noah Tuttle blocked a Souza field goal attempt and junior linebacker Vincent A. Thomas scooped it up for a 65-yard return to the Virginia Union 16 yardline. But four passes by freshman quarterback Kedrick Patterson resulted in a net loss of four yards as the ball went over on downs to the Panthers.

Senior linebacker Miacah Cooper and Thomas each notched four solo tackles and six assists to pace the ECSU defense with junior linebacker Lawrence Brown and junior defensive lineman Desmond Mitchell tallied eight tackles apiece.

Patterson completed six of 22 passes for 47 yards with two interceptions with junior wide receiver Dajuan Greene pulling in four passes for 30 yards. Junior running back Deshon Saunders led the running attack with 10 carries for 41 yards.

The Vikings (1-6, CIAA 0-6) travel to league-leading Bowie State (7-2, CIAA 4-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the regular-season finale. An ECSU victory over the Bulldogs coupled with a Virginia Union victory over Virginia State would give the Panthers the CIAA Northern Division Championship.



 

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