April Emory
September 29, 2008
The Elizabeth City State Vikings handed Saint Augustine’s College a 24-13 loss Saturday afternoon at the 11th Annual Down East Viking Football Classic. Special teams gave the Vikings their first two scores of the afternoon on Saturday. On the game’s opening drive Daniel Mendez’s 42-yard goal gave the Vikings an early 3-0 lead and less than two minutes later Reggie Smith returned the Falcon’s first punt of the day 80 yards for another score. The extra point was blocked and the Vikings would retain that lead until just before the intermission (27 seconds) Falcon quarterback Kris Brownlee rush for a 3-yard score to pull Saint Augustine’s to within two (9-7) at the half. ECSU would tack on two third quarter scores, a 2-yard run by Joel McClenney and a 64-yard bomb from Curtis Rich, Jr. to Dexter Manley, taking a 24-7 lead after a successful two-point conversion. Myron Miller added a score with 6:46 remaining (the extra point was missed) then on the ensuing kickoff, the Falcons forced and recovered a fumble and drove all the way to the Viking 4-yard line. Facing first and goal ECSU returned the favor by recovering a fumble and running out the clock to secure the win. The Falcons lost three of their five fumbles on the day and were penalized 11 times for 138 yards. They were 6-for-16 on third downs though they held the edge in time of possession (35:13). The defensive performances highlighted most of the afternoon with Steven Stanback pacing SAC (1-4, CIAA 0-2) with 7 tackles while Terence Williams totaled a career high 10 tackles to lead ECSU. The Vikings (2-3, CIAA 2-0) will return to Roebuck Stadium on Saturday, October 4 as they host Virginia State in their first divisional matchup of the season. Game time is scheduled for 1:00pm. For more information on ECSU Athletics, visit www.ecsuvikings.com.
