ELIZABETH CITY, NC- The Chowan University football team fell to the Elizabeth City State Vikings 47-21 on Saturday afternoon.  With the Homecoming win, the Vikings move to the number one spot in the CIAA Northern Division.
 
Turnovers and penalties proved to be costly for the Hawks.  Chowan surrendered 129 yards in penalties during the afternoon, along with three lost fumbles, two of which resulted in Vikings' touchdowns. 
 
Elliot Smalls led the offense with 23 carries for a total of 109 rushing yards.  Cameron Stover connected with six receivers to collect 165 passing yards on the afternoon, completing 13-26 passes.  Antjuan Randall snagged five of those passes in route to 68 receiving yards.  Ryan Nolan led the receivers with 74 receiving yards and two touchdowns. 
 
Defensively, TJ Batchelor tallied nine tackles (eight solo, one assisted), along with a sack.  Overall, aside from two big plays from Elizabeth City State, the defense was able to keep the Vikings at bay. 
 
Chowan got on the board first in the contest.  Just three minutes into the first quarter Stover connected with Elliot Smalls on a 38 yard touchdown pass to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead.  Alex Noboa's point after attempt was good, allowing Chowan to pull ahead 7-0. 
 
Elizabeth City State answered back on the next drive.  With the ball on the Chowan 44 yard line, ECSU's Namon Jones tossed a 40 yard pass to Gary Langston to put the Vikings at first and goal.  Daronte McNeil rushed four yards into the end zone to put ECSU on the board with 9:15 remaining in the first quarter.  Brett Symonds' point after attempt was good, tying the game 7-7. 
 
The Hawks fumbled the ball on the ECSU 45 yard line on the next drive, and Nigel Rios ran for 54 yards to the end zone to give the Vikings a 13-7 lead.  Symonds' point after attempt was good and Elizabeth City pulled ahead 14-7.
 
Chowan was unable to answer back on the next drive. 
 
With 14 seconds left in the first quarter, Petey Boone rushed for 19 yards to score for the Vikings.  A muffed point after attempt held the score 20-7 in favor of the Vikings.    Chowan answered back with just under 11 minutes left in the half when Stover connected with Ryan Nolan on a 29 yard touchdown pass.  Noboa's point after attempt was good to pull Chowan within six points of ECSU.
 
Chowan's defense was able hold off the Vikings until 4:16 left in the half when Namon Jones threw a 85 yard touchdown pass to Gary Langston.  Symonds made good on the point after attempt, and the Vikings took a 27-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. 
 
Namon James connected with Gary Langston with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter.  James' 78 yard pass to Langston resulted in another big play for the Vikings to give them a 33-14 advantage.  Will Boyette's rush attempt for the extra point failed. 
 
ECSU struck again in the third quarter when DD Williams recovered a Chowan fumble at the 16 yard line and returned it for a Viking touchdown.  Symonds made good on the point after attempt allowing ECSU to pull ahead 40-14. 
 
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings topped off their attack as Jones connected again with Langston on a 22 yard touchdown pass.  Symonds' point after attempt was good, giving ECSU a commanding 47-14 lead. 
 
With Graham Hobbs in for Stover, Hobbs threw a 15 yard touchdown pass to Ryan Nolan to get the Hawks on the board for the first time in the second half.  Noboa's point after attempt was good to make the score 47-21. 
 
Chowan falls to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in CIAA play after the loss to Elizabeth City State.  The Vikings move to sole ownership of the first place spot in the Northern Division, and improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in league play.