RALEIGH, NC – The Shaw University football team continues to search for its first win on the season and will hope to earn the win when they travel to Elizabeth City State University for a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Conference game Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. at Roebuck Stadium.
The game will be broadcasted live on WHSA-FM 88.9 with play-by-play commentating from Eric Curry and Michael Rochelle. For live tweets about the game, visit Shaw Athletics on Twitter @ShawBears. Gamesnotes are available here.
Saturday's contest marks the 31st time that the Bears and Vikings meet on the gridiron. Shaw has won the last four meetings, with the last being a 31-28 victory back in 2010.
The Bears opened CIAA play with a 55-13 loss to Bowie State last weekend. Shaw posts a 0-4 overall record and 0-1 in the league, while Elizabeth City State enters Saturday's game with a 1-3 overall record and 0-1 in conference action after falling to Johnson C. Smith, 31-28.
As a unit, the Bears are averaging 198.8 yards per game, 55.3 on the ground and 143.5 through the air. Darron Downing (Portsmouth, VA) leads the running game with 25 carries for 129 yards on the season with two touchdowns to his name. Downing has also completed 17-of-34 pass attempts for a total of 106 yards while Trevante Long (Greenbelt, MD) has hauled in 23 receptions for 190 yards in four games.
Defensively, Devon Hunt (Rockingham, NC) has registered 40 total tackles on the season, including 27 solo and 13 assisted. He has recorded one sack, 4.5 tackles for loss and forced one fumble. Dominique Hannibal (Chesapeake, VA) follows with 23 tackles (16 solo, 7 assisted), one sack and 8.5 tackles for a loss of 20 yards.
For the Vikings, ECSU averages 306.3 yards per outing, 103.5 rushing and 202.8 passing. Daquan Neal has completed 66-of-152 passes for 757 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for 176 yards on 48 carries and four touchdowns scored in the four games. Leading in receptions for ECSU is James Roe, who has 16 catches for 206 yards thus far. The Vikings defense is led by Miacah Cooper with 32 tackles, followed by Jonathan Turnage with 26 total.
Should Shaw win Saturday, the victory will snap a five-game losing skid dating back to the 2015 season.
Following the contest at ECSU, Shaw will return home to open division play against Fayetteville State on Oct. 8 at Durham County Memorial Stadium with a kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information Shaw football and its 11 varsity sport teams, visit shawbears.com.
