ETTRICK, VA. – The Chowan Football team snapped their three game skid to give the Hawks their first winning season under head coach Mark Hall with a 38-30 victory over Virginia State in CIAA Northern Division action on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 38, Virginia State 30
RECORDS | Chowan 6-3 (3-3), Virginia State 3-6 (3-3)
LOCATION | Ettrick, Va. (Rogers Stadium)
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Bryce Witt accounted for five touchdowns on the afternoon with four passing and one rushing touchdown. Witt tossed for 189 yards and added 20 yards rushing.
Tyrek McNeil posted 75 yards rushing on 18 carries. McNeil added five receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns. JaQuan Albright and Jeremiah Smith tallied one touchdown reception.
Gilberto Ortiz paced the defense with 11 tackles including 3.5 TFLs and a sack. Isaac Anderson posted a sack and a 61 yard interception.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter:
Virginia State scored quickly to start the contest with a two play 75-yard drive to lead 7-0 early.
The Hawks moved the ball a bit on their opening drive as Bryce Witt connected with Tyrek McNeil for a 16 yard reception. Chowan was forced to punt on the opening drive.
VSU rushed for 32 yards before connecting from 28 yards out to lead 14-0 just five minutes into the contest.
Bryce Witt connected with Tyrek McNeil on a 37 yard and 22 yard reception to find the endzone to cut into the deficit 14-7.
On the next drive, the Trojans were forced to punt as Gilberto Ortiz ended the drive with a sack. The Hawks were unable to mount any momentum as a penalty and a sack stalled the drive.
Second Quarter:
The Hawks would force a fumble and recover at their own 27. Chowan would pick up a pair of first downs on the ground before Bryce Witt found Samuel Dunn for another first down. Tyrek McNeil ripped off a 14 yard run before Witt connected with Dunn to move into the redzone. Witt found Jeremiah Smith for a nine-yard touchdown pass to even the score at 14-all.
The defense would force a three-and-out on the next drive. The opening play of the drive for the Hawks was a reverse pass as JaQuan Albright found Imeek Watkins for a 57 yard reception. The Hawks would settle for a 24 yard field goal by Jude McAtamney to lead 17-14.
After a long return was brought back with a penalty, Gilberto Ortiz recorded a strip sack on third down to give the Hawks the ball at the VSU 10. Bryce Witt posted two runs to score and five the Hawks a 24-14 lead.
On the next drive, the defense thought they had their first pick-six of the season as Connor O'Brien returned the interception back for a touchdown but was negated by a roughing the passer call. The Trojans would use the penalty to march down the field to score. Rafiq Abdul-Wahid would block the PAT. Montre Moore was unable to take the blocked PAT the distance.
With time winding down in the half, Chowan used a five play 65-yard drive to take a 31-20 lead into the half. Bryce Witt started the drive with an 11 yard pass to Imeek Watkins before rushing for 20 yards. Witt would find JaQuan Albright for 31 yards before finding Albright again on a shovel pass for the touchdown.
Third Quarter:
On the opening drive of the half for the Hawks, Chowan was forced to punt following a sack. The Trojans used 11 plays to move the ball 30 yards to settle for a 21 yard field goal to trim the deficit to 31-23.
After a Chowan punt, VSU started moving the ball across midfield before Isaac Anderson read the screen pass and intercepted the pass. Anderson would return the pass for 61 yards before being tackled at the VSU 4.
Chowan used two plays to find the endzone as Bryce Witt found Tyrek McNeil for the touchdown pass to push the lead to 38-23.
Fourth Quarter:
VSU would close the gap to 38-30 after a trick play of their own from 35 yards out.
The Hawks would have to punt on their next drive after taking 3:14 off the clock as Luis Orellana pinned the Trojans at their own 14.
The defense would force a punt of their own. Imeek Watkins returned the punt for 19 yards to move into VSU territory. Watkins picked up six yards on the ground along with a penalty to move near the redzone. Tyrek McNeil added 14 yards on the ground. The drive would stall inside the redzone as Chowan chose to go for it on fourth down.
The Trojan drive would stall as J'Vin Farmer stripped the ball but was unable to recover on third down and force a punt.
Chowan continued to milk the clock on the ground before punting. Luis Orellana posted another punt inside the 20 of the Trojans.
On the final drive for VSU, three incomplete passes forced an errant throw by the Trojans' quarterback allowing J'Vin Farmer to pick the ball off to seal the contest.
UP NEXT
Chowan wraps up the regular season on Saturday, November 6 as the Hawks welcome Lincoln (Pa.) to Garrison Stadium for Senior Day and Hall of Fame. The Hawks will look to post their best record in the NCAA era with kick-off slated for 1pm.
