DURHAM, North Carolina --Shaw scored first and never trailed on the way to a 17-13 win against Elizabeth City State Saturday afternoon at home at Durham County Memorial Stadium.
The triumph improved Shaw's record to 1-0 on the season while the Vikings fell to 0-1. The win was also Shaw's first season opening victory since the 2013 season.
Travon Tensley led all Bears rushers with 121 yards in the contest, picking up 6 yards per carry. Jerry Eaton also added 20 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Maceo Wingate reeled in two catches for 61 yards.
Jalen Banks paced the Shaw defensive effort, totaling five tackles, 1.0 TFL, one sack, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Ja'Laun Walton added one interception and Mekhi Lewis had three tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one sack in the win. Saveion GIbbs also forced two fumbles while collecting four tackles for loss.
The Bears won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers while coughing the ball up one time.
Defensively, Shaw held up fairly well against the Elizabeth City State offensive attack, holding the Vikings to 267 total yards with most of those yards coming late in the fourth quater.
How It Happened
Shaw scored first and jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 2:16 remaining in the first quarter as Christian Peters found Jon Barnes in the endzone from 16 yards out .Another Bears score then extended the lead to 10-0.
Shaw then added a touchdown with 5:07 left in the third quarter to make it a 17-0 lead. Shaw didn't score again in the game and Elizabeth City State tacked on 13 more points to finish off the scoring before Walton sealed the win for Shaw with this interception with less than a minute left in regulation.
Game Notes
» Shaw outgained Elizabeth City State 340-267, including a 188-110 advantage on the ground.
» The Bears scored first with 2:16 left in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.
» Shaw converted 5 of 15 third downs while Elizabeth City State was successful on 4 of 13.
» Shaw went 1-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 50 percent of attempts.
» The Bears took potential points off the board by forcing two turnovers on their own half of the field.
» The Bears collected eight tackles for loss and added two sacks.
» Shaw won the time of possession battle 34:08 to 25:52.
» Shaw got off to a fantastic start in the contest, putting 17 unanswered points on the board before Elizabeth City State could respond.
Next Up
Shaw heads to Albany, GA to face the Albany State University Rams Saturday, September 7. Kickoff is slated for 6 PM and can be seen live on ESPN+
