Vikings’ title hopes alive

ECSU knocks off Virginia Union 21-13

Elizabeth City State University handed Virginia Union a 21-13 loss Saturday afternoon at Hovey Field in Richmond, Va. But the story for the Vikings was not complete until Virginia State finished off a 14-12 upset of Bowie State.

The two results force a three-way tie for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Eastern Division crown between ECSU, Virginia Union and Bowie State. All three finished with a 5-2 conference record. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, but the three teams took turns beating each other. The second tiebreaker is record against common opponents, where they each went 2-1 against Lincoln, St. Paul’s and Virginia State.

That sets up today’s coin flip at the CIAA offices in Hampton, Va. It will be streamed live at

www.livestream.com/CIAA at 1 p.m.

To get to that coin flip, the Vikings had to comeback like they had all season. Trailing 13-7 at halftime, Cedric Blacknall rushed for two of his three touchdowns in the second half as ECSU scrambled back for the win.

Blacknall’s 10-yard run with 35 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave the Vikings their first lead of the afternoon, 14-13. Then with 10:19 left in the game, Blacknall padded the lead with a 2-yard scamper, capitalizing on the Panthers’ fifth turnover.

The Vikings’ defense picked off five passes and recovered two fumbles. Three of the Panthers’ turnovers came in the fourth quarter.

ECSU’s ground game was led by Daronte McNeill who rushed for 117 yards on 27 carries. Dewitt Dixon had a career day with 12 tackles while Jason Tate contributed 10 tackles and a forced fumble. Junior Terry Griffin snagged his first career interception to go with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a quarterback hurry and four tackles, two for a loss of 12 yards.

ECSU’s fate now lies in the flip of a coin. The winner of today’s coin flip will advance to the CIAA championship next week in Durham to face Western Division champion Fayetteville State.