MURFREESBORO, N.C. – In front of a large home crowd, Deshaun Wethington ran wild against rival Elizabeth City State on Homecoming in a 49-41 victory in CIAA Northern Division action on Saturday.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 49, Elizabeth City State 41
RECORDS | Chowan 2-6 (1-4), Elizabeth City State 2-6 (2-3)
LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Garrison Stadium)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Deshaun Wethington showed his strength rushing for 297 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Wethington produced the most yards in a single-game at home nearly missing the all-time single-game mark of 308.
Bryce Witt produced 221 yards through the air with four touchdowns. Witt also added 60 yards on the ground.
Adrian McNeil hauled in four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Imeek Watkins caught two touchdowns, while Brian Hopper Jr. picked up one.
Josh Berry recorded an interception that changed the contest. Cameron Smith saw a lot of action on the outside with 12 tackles and four pass break ups.
Rafiq Abdul-Wahid and Sean Ayers wreaked havoc on the Vikings' offensive line with a sack each. The interior lineman would also force two missed field goals by the Vikings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter:
The opening drive of the game would see the Vikings with two yards on the drive and a short punt. The Hawks would find the endzone two plays later. Bryce Witt connected with Adrian McNeil for 23 yards before Deshaun Wethington went untouched for a 46 yard touchdown run.
Elizabeth City State would counter with a touchdown drive of their own to even the score at 7-all.
Chowan used the ground attack and short completions to move the ball down the field. Deshaun Wethington hauled in a 15 yard dump off, followed by a 10 yard screen pass to Imeek Watkins. Watkins would rush for 9 yards before a face mask penalty put the Hawks inside the redzone. Bryce Witt found Watkins on the slant for the score, 14-7.
The Hawks' defense stood tall on the next possession on third-and-one as Bruce Boone and JayVon Rush stopped the Vikings and forced a punt. Chowan would have to punt on their next drive as John Kight would flip the field with a 47 yard punt.
The Vikings were aided on their next drive as two penalties allowed the drive to continue. ECSU would punch it in from one-yard out to even the score.
Second Quarter:
Deshaun Wethington broke off a 25-yd run and Bryce Witt picked up 12-yds on the ground to put the Hawks in the redzone again. Witt tried to force a pass in to Samuel Dunn but would be deflected an intercepted.
ECSU used the turnover and produced points to take a 21-14 lead on a nine-play 85 yard drive.
Chowan would move the ball down the field on the ground as Deshaun Wethington chewed up 59 yards during the drive. A pair of unsuccessful plays would lead to a 27 yard field goal attempt. The Jackson Brooks attempt would be blocked.
A pass interference call would help the Vikings move down the field and take a 28-14 advantage late in the half.
The Hawks' next drive would end on fourth down as a 29-yd kick return by Torrance Brumfield would be the only bright spot on the drive. Chowan had two penalties that put them behind the chains.
The defense would hold the Vikings to a field goal to end the half but was pushed right.
Third Quarter:
The opening drive of the half saw promise until a fumble would hand the ball back to the Vikings. ECSU would not have the ball long as Rafiq Abdul-Wahid would register a sack and Josh Berry would intercept a pass and return it 29 yards to put the Hawks at the ECSU10.
Bryce Witt moved the ball to the one-yard line and Deshaun Wethington punched it in to close the gap to 28-21.
The bend but don't break defense came through again after a penalty pushed the Vikings closer to the redzone. Colby Scott, Rafiq Abdul-Wahid, Marcus Devin, and Cameron Scott held strong to force a field goal attempt. The interior line would force a miss.
Deshaun Wethington continued to run strong as Wethington broke off a 51 yard gainer. Bryce Witt capped off the drive with a nine yard touchdown reception to Brian Hopper Jr.
Antoine Brown and Sean Ayers made the Vikings' quarterback a little skiddish gaining four yards on the drive. A nine yard punt set the Hawks up near midfield.
Chowan would use a flea flicker to get the offense moving after Deshaun Wethington racked up 22 yards. Bryce Witt dropped the ball in a basket to Adrian McNeil o the flea flicker for the touchdown to regain the lead 35-28.
Fourth Quarter:
The drive for the Vikings would stall to open the final stanza as Raydarius Freeman and JayVon Rush teamed up for a sack. The punt would pin the Hawks inside their own 20.
After a sack of Bryce Witt at the CU 5, the Hawks would get out of the shadow of their own goal post with a 35 yard reception to Ra'Cee Lucas. Witt would find Lucas again on a gain of 14 yards. A face mask penalty pushed the ball down to the ECSU 6. Witt connected with Imeek Watkins on a short swing pass for the score to lead 42-28.
Trailing midway through the quarter, ECSU aired the ball out and found an open target to cut into the deficit 42-35 with 6:49 remaining.
Torrance Brumfield would set the Hawks up once again near midfield with a strong kick return. The Hawks kept the ball on the ground after a 17 yard completion to Ra'Cee Lucas. Deshaun Wethington and Bryce Witt used powerful runs and broken tackles for short gains. Witt ran over a Viking defender on his way to the one-yard line. Wethington would punch it in for the score.
Elizabeth City State would strike quickly to trim the Hawks' lead to 49-41 as the PAT would be missed. The last ditch effort by the Vikings on the on-side kick would be unsuccessful as Calvin Stephens snatched the ball off the bounce to seal the win with 1:07 remaining.
Chowan looked to find the endzone once more as Deshaun Wethington broke into the open field for a gain of 32 yards. Wethington finished off the contest with two more runs to take the clock to all zeroes.
UP NEXT
Chowan will host Virginia State in the final home game of the season on Saturday, November 2. The contest will feature the induction of the 2019 Chowan Hall of Fame and Senior Day. Kick-off is slated for 1pm.
