BEARS CRUISE BY VIKINGS 24-7

In front of a homecoming capacity crowd, the Shaw University Bears cruised by the Vikings of Elizabeth City State University 24-7 and extended their win streak to four.  The win improved the Bears to 4-1 in the CIAA and 5-3 over-all, while the Vikings dropped to 0-5, 1-7.

The Bears got on the score board first with 7:48 left in the first quarter when Chester Charles (5’9, 150-PK/JR-Baton Rouge, LA) connected on a 38 yard field goal.  With 10 seconds left in the quarter the Vikings took a brief 7-3 lead when Dan Herlihy connected with Marvin Jackson for a 37 yard touchdown pass.  SU took the lead for good (10-7) with 11:52 left in the half when Reginald Price (6’0, 190-RB/JR-Winston Salem, NC) scored the first of three touchdowns on a six yard run.

Price added two three yard touchdown runs in the third and fourth quarter and finished the day with 98 yards rushing on 16 carries.

This was also the first time this season the Bears held their opponent scoreless in the final three quarters.  Senior defensive end David Coleman (6’2, 255/Miami, FL) broke the SU modern day career sack record with his 1.5 sack.  He also had one interception, two pass break-ups and three tackles for 10 yard in losses.  He has 9.5 career sacks which broke former SU All-American Chris Peavy’s (LB-8) career record.

SU’s win and Virginia State’s (4-1, 5-3) win over Virginia Union (48-12) has setup the CIAA Eastern Division showdown next week, when the Bears host Virginia State at Baker Stadium (1:00 PM/Oct. 22)) in Raleigh. The winner will have the head-to-head advantage going into the last game of the regular season.  SU will end the season on the road at St. Paul’s, while Virginia State will host Bowie State.