The CIAA Championship Game 1970-2005:
"Celebrating the Birth of an Original"
The Championship Game - November 5 - Durham

Week 6- Critical Divisional Match-ups

Divisional play opens on Saturday with several critical head to head match-ups. The lone undefeateds, St. Augustine’s and North Carolina Central, meet in an important regional match-up. The winner will take control of the West. Defending Champ Shaw travels to upstart Bowie State with renewed hopes of repeating in the East. Teams must begin jockeying for position now, as the first NCAA regional poll comes out on Monday.

GAME OF THE WEEK: ST. AUGUSTINE’S AT NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL

For the first time in recent memory, two undefeated teams meet with 5-0 records in the CIAA. The irresistible force, NCCU, meets the immovable object, St. Aug. NCCU’s high-powering offense is averaging nearly 40 points per game. St. Aug’s defense has only given up 26 points….all season. The Falcons recorded their second shutout of the season and have only given up more than 10 points once, a 44-14 victory over Virginia State. However, they will face their toughest challenge of the season contending with the high-flying Eagle Offense. Even without Adrian Warren, the Eagles generated 38 points against Bowie State. However, Warren needs to be at full strength against St. Aug. Scoring will be at a premium in this contest. The NCCU “triplets” QB Warren, WR Ross and RB Pruitt, face their first “championship” caliber test. The NCCU Defense will have their own issues on Saturday, dealing with the fantastic NCCU transfer Nesbitt. (12:00 noon at Durham)

(Players for Watch: St. Aug: QB Darrell Nesbitt, WR Eddie Montgomery, DB Myron Miller) (NCCU: QB Adrian Warren, WR Torey Ross, DL Ronald Dowdy)

SHAW AT BOWIE STATE: Bowie State fell at North Carolina Central and also fell back to the pack. Five teams in the East now sport 1-1 records. Shaw’s offensive punch has returned. The Bears have scored 70 points in their last six quarters including 40 against Livingstone. This should be a high scoring affair at Bowie with the Bulldogs averaging nearly 30 points per game themselves. QB Jermonty Kimbrough has put the Bear offense on his back, playing again at his ’04 level. BSU has played the best of any team in the East, thus far, but they will find wrestling away the crown from Shaw a tall order. (1:00pm at Bowie, MD)

(Players to Watch: Shaw: QB Jermonty Kimbrough, RB Dion McIver, WR Reginald Price) (Bowie State: QB Lamar Manigo, RB Issac Redman, WR Glenn Thomas)

WINSTON-SALEM STATE AT FAYETTEVILLE STATE: All good things must come to an end, like FSU’s three-year home win streak against the CIAA last Saturday. Virginia State shocked the Broncos 22-14 last weekend and found the Broncos out of their customary CIAA driver’s seat. Indeed the Broncos’ backs are now against the wall.

Another loss could knock the Broncos out of the divisional race… a division they have won three years running. WSSU meets their most formidable foe of the season at FSU. The Rams enter on a two-game win streak. In 2001, FSU began their championship run at WSSU with a thrilling four-overtime victory. The Rams hope to play spoilers in this one. (6:00pm at Fayetteville)

(Players to Watch: WSSU: RB Jed Bines, QB Monte Purvis, WR Brad Herring) (Players to Watch: FSU: QB Jonathan Autry, WR Veon McHam, LB Donte Wise)

VIRGINIA UNION AT ST. PAUL’S: In their inaugural season back in the CIAA, St. Paul’s has been impressive. They played FSU to a near standstill and won impressively at Johnson C. Smith. SPC’s Willard Bailey, the league’s all-time winningest coach hosts a familiar foe for homecoming….VUU. Bailey earned most of his wins at VUU and most recently won the 2001 Championship Game. This will be SPC’s first home contest of the year and its homecoming! (1:00pm at Lawrenceville, VA)

(Players to Watch: VUU: QB John Grier, RB Elihu Smith, WR Herb Jones) (SPC: RB Terrell Bailey, RB Walter Virgil, WR Emory Addison)

ELIZABETH CITY STATE AT VIRGINIA STATE: But for last season’s upset at ECSU, VSU may have found itself in its first championship game in nearly 30 years. The Trojans revived their season with last weekend’s upset over FSU. ECSU played unbeaten St. Aug to a 7-0 standstill last weekend. The Vikings may be the best 1-4 team in the country. Disappointing losses to WSSU and St. Aug have hidden ECSU football’s dramatic improvement. Both VSU and ECSU will fight to remain in the divisional race with a victory here. ( 1:30pm at Petersburg).

(Players to Watch: ECSU: DL Maceo Thomas, RB Dennis Hamilton, WR Marvin Jackson) (VSU: RB Nick Fleming, DB Sean Wade, WR Kenny Pointer)

LIVINGSTONE AT JOHNSON C. SMITH: The nation’s oldest HBCU football rivalry renews. These teams hooked up for the first time in 1892. However, both will be looking for their first win of the season. (6:00pm at Charlotte).

(Players to Watch: LC: QB Jason Mitchell, WR Chris Jeter, QB Ryan Goings) (JCSU: RB Anthony Daigle, DB De’Audre Dix, LB George Harkness)