MURFREESBORO, N.C. – With time running down late in the fourth quarter, the Chowan Football team had a costly turnover in the redzone that ended the upset bid against nationally ranked Virginia State on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 23, #17 Virginia State 26

RECORDS | Chowan 3-6 (3-3), Virginia State 8-0 (6-0)

LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Garrison Stadium)

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Tyrell Freeman led the Hawks rushing and receiving with 85 yards rushing and 59 yards receiving.  Freeman tallied two touchdowns on the afternoon with a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Bryce Witt finished the game with 14-28 passing for 192 yards and a touchdown.

Bryan Bryant became the sixth player to record a punt return for a touchdown in program history.

The Hawks' defense kept the high powered run game of Virginia State to 220 yards, 75 yards under their season average.

George Parker led the Hawks with 10 tackles.  Dakota Baer and Randy Allen Jr. notched eight tackles each.

HOW IT HAPPENED

1st Quarter:

Chowan received the opening kick-off but was unable to move the ball as Virginia State forced a three-and-out.

Virginia State marched the ball down the field to score on their opening possession of the contest gaining 30 yards on the ground as Trojan QB found the endzone on a 6-yd scamper.

On the ensuing drive, Bryce Witt connected with Ra'Cee Lucas for a 34-yd strike to move the Hawks into Trojan territory.  Back-to-back completions to Tyrell Freeman on chunks of 16 and 18 yds took the ball down to the VSU1.  Freeman went untouched through the hole for the touchdown.

The Trojans were backed up on their next drive as an illegal block forced the Trojans to start the drive at their own 10 yd line.  Marquise Baldwin picked up a third down sack to pin Virginia State inside the five forcing a punt. 

The Trojans' punter standing in the back of the endzone felt the Hawks' pressure as Chowan brought the house.  Tonee Hill applied pressure from the right side and partially blocking the kick as the ball traveled to the VSU 9 yd line.  Bryan Bryant caught the punt over his shoulder and waltzed into the endzone for the 9-yd punt return for a touchdown to give the Hawks a 14-7 lead.

Virginia State moved the ball down the field on their final possession of the quarter before VSU running back scored on a 31-yd sweep.  The PAT was missed to keep the Hawks in front 14-13.

2nd Quarter:

Chowan used a 13-play 77 yard drive to open the quarter that finished in a touchdown for the Hawks.  Bryce Witt completed passes to Torry Baker (18 yds), Herman Dupas Jr. (9 yds), and Donald Boone (3 yds) to move the ball into Trojans' territory.

Bryce Witt ended the drive with a 20-yd swing pass to Tyrell Freeman for the score.  The PAT was missed to bring the score to 20-13 in favor of Chowan.

Neither team managed a strong drive until the final drive of the half as Virginia State scored with 16 seconds remaining.  The Trojans were able to find the endzone from one yard out.  VSU went for the two-point conversion but was tackled short by Tyler Bembry to keep the Hawks in front 20-19.

3rd Quarter:

The Hawks and Trojans exchanged turnovers in the quarter as the Hawks fumbled on fourth down.  George Parker took the ball away from a VSU receiver to hand the ball back to Chowan on the next drive.

4th Quarter:

Virginia State would take their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter as the Trojans used a 13-play 74 yd scoring drive to take a 26-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks responded on their next drive as three defensive penalties aided the drive.  Chowan's drive stalled in the redzone before Connor Killeen kicked a 25-yd field goal to cut the deficit to 26-23 with 7:24 remaining.

Chowan's defense stood tall on the next drive as VSU started milking the clock.  Randy Allen Jr. cut down a Trojan running back for a loss of seven yards forcing a punt.

With 4:24 left on the clock, Chowan mounted a rally from their own 32-yd line.  Tyrell Freeman picked up 13 yards on three carries before a Chowan timeout on fourth and four near midfield with 2:24 remaining.  Freeman broke through for 21 yards giving the Hawks the first down and near the redzone.

On third down, Bryce Witt used his legs to get inside the 10-yd line, Witt hurdled the VSU defender but the ball was dislodged during the attempt and recovered by Virginia State to end the comeback.

UP NEXT

Chowan travels to Lincoln (Pa.) to face the Lions in the final game of the season on November 4.