[DURHAM, NC] - Saturday's game between Saint Augustine's and Shaw had more than the in-city rivalry going for it.  It also pitted the CIAA's best passing offense against the conference's (and nation's) best defense against the pass.

Defense won.

While Shaw did allow Saint Augustine's quarterbacks to amass 276 yards of passing offense, they also picked off seven passes - a school record - on the way to a 20-16 victory in the Bears' Senior Day game at Durham County Memorial Stadium.

"We were determined not to let them beat us in the air," said Shaw head coach Darrell Asberry.  "I was surprised that they kept passing - and kept going after Darnell (Evans)."

Evans had two of the team's interceptions, with Marcus Skeen and Keith Lomon also pulling in two apiece.  Rico Brown added one more to the mix.  Of Saint Augustine's 16 drives in the game, seven ended in interceptions.

With the win, the Bears finish the season 3-7, 3-4 in the CIAA, while the Falcons end the season at 4-6, 3-4 in the conference.  The win is Shaw's third straight victory over their cross-town rivals.  The 3-7 record equals the worst record in Asberry's tenure at Shaw, matching the 3-7 mark set in his first season with Shaw.

"Today's game showed that when we play great defense and get some good offense to go with it, we're not a real 3-7 football team," said Asberry. 

Before the game, the Bears honored the 18 seniors on the football team, and then settled in to watch some of those seniors go right to work.

Senior kicker Lyncon Shepherd put the Bears on the board on the first drive of the game with a 28-yard field goal. 

On Saint Augustine's second offensive play of the game, senior defensive back Skeen picked off a Teddy Bacote pass and returned it 23 yards before Bacote tackled him. 

On the third play of the subsequent Shaw drive, Quinshon Odom hit senior James Pettway for a 34-yard strike that put the Bears in the end zone and give them a 10-0 lead with 9:16 left in the first quarter.

Two drives later, Saint Augustine's offense found some footing with Bacote hitting Jamian Smith for a 53-yard completion two plays before connecting with Brian Richards for six yards and a touchdown that cut the Shaw lead to 10-7 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

Late in the first quarter and with the Falcons driving deep into Shaw territory, Bacote again threw into coverage and Lomon  came up with the ball and returned it for 27 yards, but the Shaw offense stalled and they were forced to punt the ball away. 

Saint Augustine's again began to drive, but Bacote again found Lomon rather than one of his own teammates.  This time the Shaw offense got deep enough that Shepherd could give them a 13-7 lead with a 21-yard field goal.

Two drives later, Saint Augustine's took the lead when Bacote again connected with Richards - this time for a four-yard touchdown strike - to give the Falcons a 14-13 lead that they took to the locker room with them at the half.

The first four drives in the second half were an exchange of punts by both teams, with neither gaining an advantage in field position. 

Then, with the ball starting on the Saint Augustine's own five yard line, Bacote and the Falcons drove to the Shaw 33.  Bacote then went for the touchdown, but Evans picked off the ball on the Shaw one - giving the Bears the ball, but pinning them on the one-yard line. 

Shaw got out of the shadow of their own goal post, but no farther, but a good Shepherd punt pushed the Falcons to their own 23.  On the very first play of the drive, Skeen picked off another Bacote pass, returning it ten yards.

With Homer Causey in at quarterback, the Bears closed the distance quickly and Causey's 15-yard pass to senior Daniel Lee to give Shaw a 20-14 lead.

That ended the offensive scoring.  With Joaquin Green in at quarterback for the Falcons, the Bears again intercepted the ball - this time by senior Brown.  But the pick again put them deep in Shaw territory.  With the Falcon defense closing in, Causey was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone, giving the Falcons a safety, and cutting the lead to 20-16.

The Falcons never got rolling on offense after that, and gave up yet another interception - the second one to Evans, leaving the score at 20-16 and giving the Bears a win to send out their seniors.

With seniors making major contributions, Asberry says he knows just what they will be missing next season and how hard they'll have to work to replace this level of talent.  "We're heading out Monday to recruit," Asberry said.  "I'm going to be a lot more hands on this year and we will have the talent to replace these young men."

Odom finished the game eight for 19 for 104 yards with one touchdown.  Causey was five for 14 for 102 yards and one touchdown.  He also gave up an interception.  Malik Cross was the leading receiver with five catches for 89 yards.  Pettway had four receptions for 57 yards and hauled in one touchdown.  Fred Holliday - also a senior - rushed 26 times for 88 yards.

Defensively, Skeen had seven solo tackles in addition to his two interceptions.  He also broke up one pass.  Lomon had five solo tackles, two assists and the two interceptions. 

For the Falcons, Bacote was 19 for 44 for 226 yards and two touchdowns.  He gave up five of the interceptions on the afternoon.  Green was four for 14 for 50 yards and two interceptions. 

Smith had six catches for 107 yards while Richards finished with nine receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns.  Dennis Mathis was the leading rusher for Saint Augustine's with seven carries for 31 yards.

Chaz Robinson led the Falcon defense with four solo tackles and six assists, including one tackle for a loss.  Joe Reed had six solo tackles and three assists, including 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss.

Photos:  Marcus Skeen (left) returns the first interception of the game.  Keith Lomon gets serious air to haul in an interception of his own.