Diverse Offensive Attack Leads Shaw to 54-3 Win Over
Livingstone
Sherri Fillingham
(Raleigh, NC) – Marcus Brooks and Travis Robinson each threw for two
touchdowns, Julius Gregory caught two touchdowns and Aaron Ellison
rushed for two touchdowns as Shaw easily handled visiting Livingstone
College 54-3.
Shaw (7-2, 4-2 in the CIAA) held the Blue Bears (0-9, 0-6 in the CIAA)
to only 99 yards of offense, while amassing 358 yards of their own.
Despite the lopsided win, the Bears drive to a third straight CIAA
championship was dealt a major blow as Fayetteville State defeated Saint
Augustine’s 56-5. Shaw can only win the Western Division if Fayetteville
loses to Livingstone next week, while the Bears beat Johnson C. Smith.
Shaw got off to an early start when De’Andre Okonji returned the opening
kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Less than four minutes later, the
Bears scored on a Robinson 18-yard strike to Jayson Royal and extended
their lead to 14-0.
After DeMarcus Roberson recovered a Livingstone fumble, the Bears
scored on a 17-yard Ellison touchdown. The extra point was no good,
leaving the score at 20-0 in favor of the Bears less than eight minutes
into the game.
The weather wrested control of the game from both teams midway through
the first quarter. A driving rain made it difficult for either team to
find a rhythm.
Neither team mounted a drive of over six plays throughout the rest of
the first half. The only scoring – a Jordan Beckham 26-yard field goal
for Livingstone – came as a result of a bad snap on a Shaw punt.
At the end of the first half, each team had only five first downs, and
Livingstone had a single yard rushing. Livingstone had a total of 47
offensive yards and the Bears had only 91 yards of offense.
Livingstone’s offensive woes did not improve in the third quarter. Just
over a minute into the period, Okonji blocked a Beckham punt into the
end zone, giving the Bears a safety and a 22-3 lead.
Ellison added a four-yard rushing touchdown, and Antonio Dunn scored his
first touchdown on the season on a two-yard run to give the lengthen the
Bear lead to 34-3.
Gregory then caught two seven-yard touchdown passes – one from Robinson
and one from Brooks- to continue the Bear momentum in the fourth
quarter. Brooks connected with Tyrone Craig for the two-point conversion
to give Shaw a 48-3 lead.
Brooks closed off the scoring with just over a minute left in the game
when he connected with Tyrone Bolden for a 35-yard touchdown strike. The
two-point conversion failed, leaving the final score 54-3.
While the Bear offense and defense fired on all cylinders, the Shaw
kicking game struggled on the muddy field. Caleb Reid, who had been
perfect on point after attempts through seven games this season, missed
on two and had another one blocked.
Punter Vincent Pacifico, among the punting leaders in Division II, had
one snap go over his head, and had to field other snaps before getting
the ball away.
Brooks was five for seven passing for 107 yards in addition to his two
touchdowns. Robinson was eight for 16 for 91 yards, two touchdowns and
one interception.
Shaw leading rusher Raymond Williams went down with an injury early in
the game, so Ellison shouldered most of the running load, with 16
carries for 86 yards.
Bolden led the receiving corps with 96 yards on four catches. Gregory
had only three receptions on the evening – two of them touchdowns – for
a total of 20 yards.
On defense, Callahan Bright had six tackles, including one and a half
tackles for a loss. Antonio Lyons and Rico Brown each had five tackles.
Quintez Smith, who leads NCAA Division II in interceptions, picked off
another pass, bringing his season total to nine.
Shaw closes out its season next Saturday against Johnson C. Smith at
6:00 p.m. at Millbrook High School Stadium
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