The first Saturday of October will bring a full slate of North Carolina D2 football — all 13 of our state’s programs will be in action. CIAA and Conference Carolinas teams will set the stage with early afternoon matchups, while our four South Atlantic squads will occupy the evening time slots.
Winston-Salem State hosts defending CIAA champion Virginia Union in a high-stakes conference game at Bowman Gray. New Top-25 member UNC Pembroke will go on the road to Erskine, aiming for its fifth win in a row. Two of the hottest SAC teams, Mars Hill and Catawba, will collide in Salisbury.
Follow our Game Day thread for live updates and scores from today’s North Carolina D2 football action. Bookmark and check back throughout the weekend. We’ll add quick hitters and top performers as the day and weekend progresses.
🔗 Jump To: Today’s D2 Games | Live Scoreboard | Wrap-Up
🏆 More Live Threads: FBS | FCS | Full North Carolina College Scoreboard
📅 North Carolina D2 Football Schedule | Saturday, Oct. 4
🔥CIAA Football Scores & Recaps
Johnson C. Smith 31, Virginia State 20 – FINAL
Kelvin Durham threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Golden Bulls improve to 5-1 overall and keep CIAA title game hopes alive. Virginia State played in the championship game last season.
Fayetteville State 38, Bowie State 10 – FINAL
Quarterback Demari Daniels rushed for two touchdowns, and the Broncos won for the third game in a row to stay with the CIAA front-runners.
Elizabeth City State 39, Livingstone 27 – FINAL
Quarterback Christopher Perkins accounted for five touchdowns, and Elizabeth City State gave first-year coach Adrian Jones his first win with the program. Perkins tossed a trio of TD passes in the decisive third quarter, finding Troy Smith, Traquan Johnson and Terrance Holland for scores.
Virginia Union 44, Winston-Salem State 34 – FINAL
Curtis Allen rushed for 255 yards and 4 TDs, and the defending CIAA champions fended off a feisty effort from the Rams. Daylin Lee threw for 278 yards and 3 TDs, and WSSU scored twice in the fourth quarter to pull closer.
Bluefield State 35, Shaw 33 – FINAL
Shaw climbed out of an early 22-7 hole, and Keyshaun Powell caught a 14-yard TD pass with 1:08 left to pull the Bears within two points. But Bluefield State covered the onsides kick and ran out the clock.
🔗 Jump To: Live Scoreboard
FINAL
Vikings take their first dub of the season against Livingstone at home. Congratulations to Coach Adrian Jones for his first win at ECSU. pic.twitter.com/cKpdrwu7ZI— ECSU Athletics (@ECSUVikings) October 4, 2025
💪 Conference Carolinas Scores & Recaps
UNC Pembroke 44, Erskine 7 – FINAL
Tre Robinson threw for 354 yards and 6 touchdowns – shades of 2023-24 gunslinger Colin Johnson – and the Braves improved to 5-1, 2-0 in Conference Carolinas. Jaquan Albright, Que Kennedy and Malik Brown each caught two TDs. UNCP hasn’t lost since dropping the opener at Wingate in August.
North Greenville 31, Chowan 16 – FINAL
North Greenville (2-3, 2-0) kept pace with UNC Pembroke in the Conference Carolinas standings with its second league victory. Chowan led 10-7 early after a Jamison Davis TD run and a chip-shot Jack Beylo field goal. But the Hawks started pulling away in the second quarter, eventually scoring 21 unanswered points.
Delta State 45, Barton 0 – FINAL
Nick Clark rushed for three touchdowns in the first half, while Qualon Farrar found the end zone three times in the second half for Delta State (5-1). Barton (0-5) is the last remaining team in our state without a win this season. To the Bulldogs credit, they have played a brutal schedule thus far. Delta State is ranked No. 20 in D2 football.
🔗 Jump To: Live Scoreboard
FINAL: Braves take the game 44-7#BraveNation pic.twitter.com/5ulL4iZeZ9 — UNCP Braves Football (@UNCP_Football) October 4, 2025
⚡South Atlantic Conference Football Matchups
Lenoir-Rhyne 32, Valdosta State 25 – FINAL
The Bears became the third North Carolina team to beat Valdosta State this season. Valdosta played in the D2 national title game a year ago. Lenoir-Rhyne pulled within a point, 25-24, with a Daniel Deneen Jr. field goal with 5:31 left. Khamoni Robinson recorded the game-winning TD with 14 ticks remaining on a 1-yard rush. (Valdosta has no more games against NC teams on its schedule).
Catawba 42, Mars Hill 28 — FINAL
Catawba continued its best start to a season in nearly a decade, pulling away from Mars Hill. Kevin Lalin rushed for 174 yards, including a 26-yard scoring play with 2:41 left that gave the Indians extra cushion. Preston Brown threw 3 TD passes. Mars Hill’s electric QB JR Martin also completed three scoring strikes and finished with 307 passing yards.
Newberry 43, Wingate 42 — FINAL/OT
Newberry’s Reed Charpia completed a two-point pass to Keith Desaussure in overtime, and the Wolves won a wild nightcap in D2 football. Wingate, the 2024 SAC champs, suffered its second-straight loss in league action. Charpia threw for 413 yards and 6 TDs. Xavier Pugh rushed for 115 yards and three scores for the Bulldogs. Wingate had a 21-0 lead in the first half. Newberry forced OT with a Charpia TD pass in the final minute. The Bulldogs missed a 50-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.
📊 Live Scoreboard: North Carolina D2
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Fayetteville St | 7 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 38 | Final | ||
 | Bowie St | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | CIAA-SN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Virginia Union | 16 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 44 | Final | ||
 | WSSU | 0 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 34 | CIAA-SN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Livingstone | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 | Final | ||
 | ECSU | 7 | 6 | 20 | 6 | 39 | CIAA-SN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | North Greenville | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 31 | Final | ||
 | Chowan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 16 | CCDN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Shaw | 7 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 33 | Final | ||
 | Bluefield St | 22 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 35 | CIAA-SN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | UNCP | 6 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 44 | Final | ||
 | Erskine | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | CCDN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Delta State | 0 | 25 | 14 | 6 | 45 | Final | ` | |
 | Barton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CCDN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | JCSU | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 | Final | ||
 | Virginia State | 0 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 20 | CIAA-SN | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 7 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 32 | Final | ||
 | Valdosta State | 6 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 25 | FloCollege | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Mars Hill | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 | Final | ||
 | Catawba | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 | FloCollege | ||
| TOTAL | |||||||||
 | Wingate | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 42 | Final/OT | |
 | Newberry | 0 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 43 | FloCollege |
✅ D2 Football Wrap-Up
All 13 teams played today (Oct. 4). Here are the standout performances:
🏆 Biggest Win of the Day
Sometimes the first win is the toughest. After four losses to open the season, Elizabeth City State played its best game to date and toppled Livingstone 39-28. The Blue Bears came in with a 2-0 CIAA record and one of the toughest D-lines in the league. But it was ECSU that turned the tide with defensive prowess, recording four sacks and two interceptions.
Dual-threat quarterback Christopher Perkins threw four touchdown passes and rushed for another score. ECSU coach Adrian Jones, who spent several years at Shaw before taking over in Elizabeth City, got his first win with his new program. Viking pride.
💪 Standout Performances
Johnson C. Smith (5-1) could not afford to lose at Virginia State on Saturday, and quarterback Kelvin Durham wasn’t about to let that happen. The Golden Bulls’ signal caller threw four TD passes, including two after halftime to keep VSU at bay.
Catawba, also 5-1, continues its ascent in the SAC. Tyler Haines’ program saw an All-American running back transfer in the off-season (ending up at Lenoir-Rhyne). But Catawba has a whole stable of capable backs this season, including Kevin Lalin, who rushed for 173 and 1 TD. Defensively, Evan Simons was a monster – 12 tackles, 3.0 TFLs (31 negative yards), 2.0 sacks and an interception returned for 23 yards.
⚡ Biggest Upset
Elizabeth City State likely belongs here as well. The Vikes were underdogs to a Livingstone team that had been stout in CIAA play so far. Lenoir-Rhyne topped the 2024 D2 runners-up on Saturday, but maybe beating this year’s Valdosta State team (1-3 against North Carolina opponents) isn’t really an upset anymore?
🔥 Other Highlights & Takeaways
- Mars Hill had been the last SAC team without a conference loss until Saturday. Emory & Henry leads the league standings with a 4-1 SAC record. Catawba improved to 3-1.
