Football
'99
By Taleasha A. Reavis
Winston-Salem State (7-0, 7-2) claimed the CIAA Football Championship last weekend and went on Saturday to whip Elizabeth City State (1-5, 1-9), 21-6, to remain undefeated in the conference. Willie Crite recovered a blocked punt return for a touchdown to get the game in motion for the Rams. In the final second of the 1st quarter, Terrie Newkirk ran 12-yards for a touchdown. Newkirk was the leading rusher for the Rams with 145 yards on 28 carries. Calvin Bryant and DeRon Alexander were the leading tacklers with 12 and 11, respectively. The Vikings gained 204 total offensive yards in the contest. Percell Knight gained 89 yards on 17 carries and scored the Vikings only touchdown before the half. Derrick Watkins took down 15 ( 8 solo, 7 assisted) opponents for his squad.
N.C. Central (4-3, 5-5) whipped Johnson C. Smith (1-5, 2-7), 35-7, giving the Eagles their first winning season in 3 years. N.C. Central gained 379 total offensive yards in the game . . . 377 on the ground! The attack was led by Jamel Green with 26 carries for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. Teammate Sakwana Dickens was not far behind with 102 yards on 16 carries and 2 touchdowns. Anthony Connally received weekly honors for having a game-high of 15 (9 solo, 6 assisted) tackles. Golden Bull quarterback, Spencer Mayo, finished the day completing 11 of 29 passes for 180 yards and a TD. Reggie Broughton and Robert McDaniel led the defensive charge with 14 and 13 tackles each.
Virginia Union (5-1, 7-2) was on the road this weekend and stomped Fayetteville State (1-5, 1-9), 49-14. The Panthers scored 20 points in the first quarter of play! Andre Braxton gained 222 of the 396 total offensive yards accrued by the team and scored a touchdown in the game. Travis Thornton was the leading receiver having 5 catches for 64 yards and 3 touchdowns. Quarterback Jasun Thompson had 9 completions for 65 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Broncos attempted to redeem themselves in the 2nd quarter with back-to-back touchdowns by Chris Stewart and Mark Green to no avail. Stewart ended the day with 14 completed passes for 158 yards. Douglas Wells was a standout on defense with 17 tackles, four (4) for a loss of 20 yards and an interception.
Virginia State (4-2, 5-4) declared victory over Bowie State (4-3, 5-4) defeating them, 56-32. Bowie State gave up 554 total offensive yards to the Trojans. Antonio Hawkins completed 20 passes for 383 yards and four (4) touchdowns in his role as quarterback. His longest pass was a 77-yard missile to Robert Coles in the 3rd quarter. Coles finished the day with 4 catches for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jim Whitehead, quarterback, had 17 completed passes for 248 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Defensive Back Harry Brunson counted 9 (6 solo, 3 assisted) tackles in the game.
Outside of the conference, Livingstone (1-5, 3-7) succumbed to Albany State, 34-13, during their Homecoming celebration. The Blue Bears gave up 430 offensive yards to Albany State. Carlton Jones scored the first touchdown of the game with an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown. Mytrell Foreman connected on a 25-yard pass from D’Andre Hopper on the second touchdown. Marcus Bankhead totaled 18 tackles (9 solo, 9 assisted) to lead the defensive effort.