ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Elizabeth City State University football earned its first victory of the 2025 campaign in emphatic fashion Saturday afternoon, defeating Livingstone College 39-27 at Roebuck Stadium.

Quarterback Christopher Perkins led the Vikings' offensive outburst, accounting for five total touchdowns — four through the air and one on the ground — as ECSU (1-4, 1-2 CIAA) found its rhythm in front of the home crowd.

ECSU struck first with a one-yard plunge from Traquan Johnson, but Livingstone (3-2, 2-1 CIAA) quickly answered with a long touchdown pass to even the score at 7-7. From there, the Vikings controlled the pace, scoring on five of their next six drives. Perkins broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, sparking a stretch of 32 unanswered points that put the game out of reach.

In the third quarter, Perkins threw three touchdown passes — a 30-yard strike to Troy Smith, a five-yard score to Johnson, and a 20-yard connection with Terrance Holland — as ECSU's offense piled up nearly 400 yards of total offense. Perkins later added a 34-yard touchdown pass to Shamar Sutton in the fourth quarter to cap the Vikings' biggest scoring day of the season.

Defensively, ECSU tallied four sacks and two interceptions, including a pick by Sterling Chavis that halted a promising Livingstone drive in the red zone. Jaevon Branch anchored the defense with a team-high eight tackles, while Caleb Gervais-Lynch and Drewvon Oxendine each recorded sacks in the victory.

Perkins finished the day an efficient 17-of-20 passing for 190 yards while adding 130 rushing yards on the ground. Holland caught six passes for 74 yards, and Smith, Sutton, and Johnson each found the end zone through the air.

The Vikings return to Roebuck Stadium next Saturday, October 11, for a CIAA showdown with Virginia Union University in the annual Shades of Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.