SALISBURY, N.C.  - Marquise Grizzle rushed for over 200 yards and two touchdowns and James Stallons threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns as Shaw stormed past Livingstone 48-20 in a game played at Alumni Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The 48 points are the most the Bears have scored this season, and the offense amassed 601 yards on the way to the Bears' third straight win after opening the season 1-3.  Overall, the Bears are 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the CIAA.  The Blue Bears fall to 2-5, 2-2 in conference.

"We're a work in progress," said Shaw head coach Robert Massey.  "We've had some injuries, but we've gotten better every week.  We've got a lot of work to do, but this was a much-needed win."

For Massey, it was a return to a school where he coached for two years.  "I want to win every game I coach in," Massey said of coming back to Salisbury.   "I worked here. I got fired. I want to come back and show well.  I have nothing against Livingstone per se, but that said I want to come back and win."

The win came largely on the backs of Grizzle and Stallons.  Grizzle's 229 yards is a season-high for any Shaw runner, and makes the fourth straight 100-plus yard rushing game for the freshman.  Stallons continues to be among the leaders in the CIAA in passing, with two straight 300-plus yard passing games.

"I think we have two of the better players in the conference in Stallons and Grizzle.  Those guys are doing what they've been doing for the last two or three weeks and showing leadership on this team.  That's what captains do, that's what leaders do," Massey said.

Stallons has been battling atop the conference passing rankings with Livingstone quarterback Drew Powell, who had been averaging 297.8 yards per game coming into the contest.  The Shaw defense held him to only 178 yards, but Massey wasn't satisfied.

"That was too much.  I am going on a limb to say this, but I believe I've got one of the best secondaries in the conference.  We've got to play better at crucial times.  We've allowed people have big passing plays late in the game.  We've got to get over that."

The first quarter of the contest gave no indication just how high-scoring the game would be.  A Shaw fumble deep in Livingstone territory cost Shaw a strong scoring chance early in the game, and a Stallons interception gave Livingstone the ball in solid field position.  Seven plays later, the Blue Bears scored the only three points of the quarter with a 23-yard field goal from Leonardo Manzo.

In their first possession of the second quarter, the Bears got 28 yards on the ground, then had Stallons hit Derek Grant for a 30-yard touchdown strike to give the Bears a 7-3 lead.

After holding the Blue Bears to only six yards on the next possession, Shaw took over the ball deep in their territory.  Grizzle ran for 39 yards on the drive, and Stallons completed two critical passes, including a 40-yarder to Ta'Juan Brown for the touchdown and the 14-3 lead.

A Grizzle fumble gave the Blue Bears the ball at midfield, and they moved the ball to the Shaw 13, where they stalled.  In field goal formation, Kristo Hemphill took the snap, then completed a pass to Terrill Gourdine for a 13-yard strike to cut Shaw's lead to 14-9 when the extra point attempt failed.

The Blue Bears had another quick strike, this one after a Langford fumbled gave them the ball deep in Bear territory.  The Blue Bears drove for only 20 yards, but that was enough to give Manzo a 31-yard field goal attempt, which he made to trim the lead to 14-12 with just over two minutes left in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, Darnell Evans broke a return for 42 yards to give the Bears the ball near midfield.  Stallons and Grizzle again led the Bears downfield and Brown tied a Shaw single game record when he hauled in his second touchdown pass of the game - this one a seven-yard hit from Stallons.  The extra point gave Shaw a 21-12 lead as the teams went to the locker room.

One of the critical differences in the two halves for the Bears were turnovers.  After coughing the ball up four times - three fumbles and an interception - in the first, Shaw would commit no turnovers in the second, while taking the ball away from Livingstone once in the half.

The Bears got the ball to open the third quarter, but went only five yards before punting the ball away.  Anthony Holland fumbled the punt which was recovered by David Jordan at the Livingstone 25-yard line.  Stallons ate up 22 of those yards with a completion to Grant, then Grizzle covered the remaining three yards on the ground, giving Shaw a 28-12 lead with over ten minutes left in the third quarter.

On the next drive, Livingstone pushed the ball to the Shaw 18, but turned the ball over on downs when Darnell Evans tackled Tevin Mishoe in the backfield for a two yard loss.   Grizzle ran for 70 yards on the ensuing Bear drive, finally powering through the line and then distancing himself from pursuers as he ran 38 yards for the fifth Shaw touchdown on the afternoon.

As the fourth quarter opened, Livingstone punted the ball, and Evans took the punt at the Shaw 17.  He dodged away from the coverage, ran toward the Shaw goal, sprinted across the entire field and then went the length of the field for an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown - setting a school record for longest punt return and giving the Bears a 42-12 lead.

Livingstone would answer with a touchdown drive of their own, riding Powell's arm and feet for 53 yards on the drive culminating in a Javon Williams four-yard rush.  Powell hit Austin Higgins for a two-point conversion, cutting the Shaw lead to 42-20 with 4:09 showing on the clock.

The Blue Bears got the ball back on their own one-yard line, and drove for 62 yards before coming up short on a fourth-down try.  The drive ate up over three minutes, leaving just over five minutes on the clock.

The Bears brought in backup quarterback Quinshon Odom, who primarily handed off to James Langford for the drive, eating up 3:49 and ending when Odom kept the ball and dove over the line for a touchdown and a 48-20 Shaw lead with 1:32 left in the game.  The Blue Bears simply ran out the clock to end the game, giving Shaw the win.

Langford finished the game with 72 yards rushing and an average of 7.2 yards per carry.  Grizzle's 229 yards game on 29 attempts for a 7.9 yard per carry average.  Stallons was 24 of 40 for 302 yards and one interception.  He was sacked twice.

Grant was the leading receiver for the Bears, hauling in ten catches for 140 yards and a touchdown.  Brown finished the game with 59 yards on only three catches - two of them for touchdowns.

Evans had 117 yards in punt returns and another 42 in kickoff returns.  Defensively, he had four tackles, including one for a loss and had two pass breakups.

Darius Moffett led the Bears with ten tackles.  Oscar Petty had eight tackles with one sack and three tackles for a loss as well as a quarterback hurry. 

Powell was 21 of 41 for Livingstone for 178 yards.  He was sacked five times.  Anthony Holland was his top receiver with three catches for 57 yards while Jalen Hendricks had four catches for 47 yards.  In all, ten Blue Bears had at least one reception.  Williams was the leading rusher, but had only 28 yards on 16 carries. 

Defensively, Tyheim Pitt had 15 tackles, including two tackles for a loss to lead Livingstone.  Kenneth White had 13 tackles, including one sack and two tackles for a loss.

The Bears celebrate homecoming Saturday, October 20 when they host Johnson C. Smith at Durham County Memorial Stadium at 1:00 p.m.