Box Score BOWIE, Md. — The Elizabeth City State University football team mounted a furious second-half comeback to knock off Bowie State, 28–27, in a dramatic CIAA matchup on Saturday afternoon. After trailing 27–7 midway through the third quarter, the Vikings scored 21 unanswered points — capped by a 19-yard touchdown strike from
Navian Hilliard to
Terrance Holland with 1:51 left — to complete one of their most thrilling victories of the season.
The game featured aggressive play calling, with both teams going 2-4 (50%) on 4th down attempts.
Bowie State jumped out to a 14–7 halftime lead behind two short touchdown runs from Savion Witherspoon, then extended the margin early in the third when Witherspoon found the end zone again from two yards out. Moments later, a pick-six put ECSU in a 20-point hole. Bowie State threatening to extend its lead even more late in the third quarter, Elizabeth City State's defense delivered a game-changing moment.
On 1st-and-10 from the Viking 13,
Manuel Montout jumped a route and intercepted a pass from Bowie quarterback Savion Witherspoon, halting a potential scoring drive and swinging the momentum back to ECSU.The turnover immediately energized the Vikings' sideline — and the offense capitalized. Starting at the Bowie 15 following consecutive penalties, quarterback
Navian Hilliard guided the Vikings to the end zone in just three plays. Running back
Traquan Johnson capped the short drive with a powerful 2-yard run up the middle to pull ECSU within 27–14 with 3:00 remaining in the third quarter.That sequence — the Montout interception followed by Johnson's touchdown — sparked the comeback, setting the stage for ECSU's 21 unanswered points in the second half.
Bowie State methodically pushed the ball downfield, but the ECSU front stiffened, forcing an incompletion on 4th-and-9 from the Viking 32. On the ensuing possession,
Navian Hilliard connected with
Traquan Johnson on a 54-yard strike that set up the Vikings deep in Bulldog territory. Two plays later, Hilliard found
Shamar Sutton for a 12-yard gain, but ECSU came up just short on 4th-and-15, turning the ball over on downs with 6:22 remaining.
The defense again delivered. Tackles from
Chris Calhoun,
Wilbert Smith IV, and
Caleb Gervais-Lynch pushed Bowie State backward, and the Bulldogs were forced to punt from deep in their own territory. Taking over at the BSU 40 after a short punt return, Hilliard wasted no time — hitting
Joe Griffin in stride for a 33-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive.
Wyatt Jackson's PAT trimmed the deficit to 27–21 with 9:48 left.
ECSU's special teams then made the play of the day. After Jackson's kickoff,
Shamar Sutton recovered a Bowie State fumble at the BSU 29.
Traquan Johnson powered the offense with a series of tough runs, setting up a 19-yard touchdown pass from Hilliard to
Terrance Holland. Jackson's extra point gave the Vikings their first lead of the game, 28–27, with 1:51 remaining. The ECSU defense sealed the win on the next series, forcing a quick three-and-out before the Vikings ran out the clock inside the Bowie State red zone to complete the comeback.
Up Next for ECSU:
With the win, Elizabeth City State improves to 3-6, and plenty on the line for next week's game for homecoming against Bluefield State. With a win, ECSU would have it's best conference record since 2013, when the Viking's also went 4-3 in CIAA play. Stay tuned for more Homecoming updates at ECSUVikings.com.
