The CIAA football championship game will be played in Salem, Va. one more time before moving to Durham for the next cycle.
Will two North Carolina teams be heading north of the border to battle for the 2024 CIAA trophy in a few months? Johnson C. Smith, Fayetteville State, Winston-Salem State and Shaw each staked their claim as contenders at this point, with each posting impressive wins on Saturday.
JCSU beat the defending champions, Virginia Union. Winston-Salem took out the preseason favorite, Virginia State. Fayetteville State claimed the Down East Viking Classic crown. Shaw exploded for 48 points.
Here are more details on a four-win day for North Carolina’s CIAA contingent.
Shaw 48, Lincoln 14
The Bears spread the wealth around, with five different players earning touchdowns … One of the best Shaw seasons in years kept rolling, with the program improving to 3-1, 1-0 against CIAA foes …
Christian Peters threw four touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He now has 13 TD tosses on the season, tops among North Carolina quarterbacks … Travon Tensley gave Shaw a potent rushing attack, rushing for 106 yards … Traquan Johnson added 61 yards and a rushing score.
Ah’shaan Belcher continues to prove he’s one of the top receivers in the CIAA, recording four catches for 90 yards and two scores (including one on a 31-yard play) … Maceo Wingate also caught two TD passes…
Shaw’s defense forced four turnovers, getting 20 points after the takeaways… The Bears picked off three Lincoln passes, with Raegon Mackey returning his interception back for the game’s final points in the fourth quarter. Virgil Davis and Noah Gibson also had picks.
Winston-Salem State 15, Virginia State 14
Gilberto Lorenzana kicked three field goals, including the game-winner from 20 yards with three seconds left, helping the Rams improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the CIAA… This was the third week in a row WSSU has played a one-score game that came down to the wire (the previous two were OT contests)…
“The past two weeks we were fortunate enough to play five quarters and went 1-1, so when it got tight and close we felt good about our team and we preserved and won the game,” Winston-Salem State Robert Massey said.
Lorenzana’s other field goals covered 30 and 37 yards …
Virginia State took a 14-6 lead with a Tylique Ray 14-yard TD run with 7:28 left. Noah Marshall answered 22 seconds later with a 78-yard touchdown dash … Trevon Hester rushed for 141 yards to power the WSSU offensive attack … Justin Fleming had eight tackles and two sacks. Camar Kyle picked off a pass.
Bowie State 31, Livingstone 17
Bowie State jumped to a 17-0 first-half lead before the Blue Bears battled back … JyMikaah Wells and Mohamed Nyanamukenga scored short-yardage touchdowns in the third quarter to pull Livingstone within 17-14. Jason Zapata then tied it in the fourth period with a 48-yard field goal…
Bowie tacked on two late touchdowns to pull away. Livingstone fell to 2-2, 0-1 in the CIAA.
Johnson C. Smith 21, Virginia Union 16
The Golden Bulls never trailed after a Quavaris Crouch 4-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter … Crouch finished with three touchdowns on the day, catching a 20-yard TD pass from Darius Ocean in the second quarter and plunging in from the 1-yard line in the third period…
Ocean finished 17-of-28 passing for 282 yards and one TD … Crouch and Kamarro Edmonds both rushed for 53 yards to lead JCSU… Brevin Caldwell, one of the top receivers in D2 football, recorded nine catches for 140 yards.
The Johnson C. Smith defense held all-CIAA running back Jada Byers to 47 yards on 19 carries. He did find the end zone twice but only averaged 2.5 yards per carry… Jalen Alexander earned two sacks for the Golden Bull and finished with 3.5 tackles-for-loss…
Virginia Union managed just 10 first downs, 40 net rushing yards and 180 total yards … It was VUU’s first CIAA loss since falling in the driving rain 10-7 at Fayetteville State on Sept. 23 last season.
Fayetteville State vs. Elizabeth City State
Fayetteville State proved stingy on defense, holding the Vikings to 154 yards. ECSU’s only points came on a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Demorian Smith.
Joe Owens Jr. threw a pair of TD passes in the fourth quarter for the Broncos (2-1, 1-0 CIAA). Julian Milligan rushed for a 19-yard TD, while Bryce Council added a 3-yard TD run in the opening half …
Milligan finished with 117 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. David Baros and Emanuel Ortega-Garcia caught Owens’ TD throws … Kolby Merritt and Thenilas Moss had interceptions for the FSU “D”.
