MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The first home game in nearly two years for the Chowan Football team did not disappoint the fans as the Hawks soared past Erskine 49-19 on Saturday afternoon at Garrison Stadium.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 49, Erskine 19

RECORDS | Chowan 3-0, Erskine 0-3

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

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

The Chowan defense limited Erskine to 293 yards of total offense, a season-low for the Hawks.  The defense racked up 7.0 sacks in the first half as Rafiq Abdul-Wahid tallied 2.5 sacks.  Gilberto Ortiz and Isaac Anderson posted 2.0 sacks each.  Anderson also had a blocked kick.

Montre Moore led the Hawks with 10 total tackles.  Simeon Burns posted eight tackles, with 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, two pass break ups and a tipped pass that lead to an interception.

Connor O'Brien and Lawuan Axel had interceptions on the afternoon.  Jakob Streeter had a fumble return of 31 yards after Keyshawn Douglas recorded the forced fumble.

Offensively, Bryce Witt tied his school record with seven passing touchdowns for 405 yards.  Four of those touchdowns went to Imeek Watkins.  Laurence King led the team with nine receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown.  Samuel Dunn and Malik Tobias also caught a touchdown pass.

Tyrek McNeil posted 83 yards rushing as the Hawks posted 142 yards on the ground on the way to 544 total yards.  McNeil also had four catches for 59 yards.

Chowan racked up 202 penalty yards on the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter:

On the second play of the game, Lawuan Axel would pick off the Erskine quarterback and give the Hawks the ball near midfield.  Bryce Witt started the drive off with an 11 yard pass to Tyrek McNeil.  Miles Fairley put the Hawks in the redzone with an 18 yard run.  Witt found Imeek Watkins for a short touchdown to put the Hawks up 7-0.

The defense would allow a first down on the next drive before forcing a punt.  The Hawks' drive would stall.  Erskine picked up a first down via penalty before sacks by Rafiq Abdul-Wahid and Isaac Anderson forced a punt.

Following a Chowan punt by Luis Orellana that pinned Erskine inside their own 20, the Fleet would move down the field on a pair of penalties.  The Fleet connected on a 49 yard pass to set up Erskine for their first touchdown of the game two plays later.  The PAT would be missed, 7-6.

On the ensuing kick-off, Jakob Streeter picked up a 32 yard return to put the ball near midfield.  Bryce Witt connected with Laurence King three times in the drive for 36 yards to put the Hawks near the redzone before the end of the quarter.

Second Quarter:

Bryce Witt found Imeek Watkins for a 20 yard pass before connecting with Malik Tobias all alone in the endzone to put the Hawks up 14-6.

Gilberto Ortiz picked up a sack on second down to force a punt.  Following a Chowan punt, Erskine moved down the field before Rafiq Abdul-Wahid posted a sack on third down and force a field goal attempt.  Erskine would miss a 39-yard attempt.

On the next possession for Erskine, the Fleet used the short field and a penalty to cut the deficit to 14-12 as Isaac Anderson blocked the PAT.

The Hawks scored quickly on their next possession with a four-play 73 yard drive.  Bryce Witt found Tyrek McNeil for 18 yards before connecting with Laurence King for 12 yards and a pair of receptions by Imeek Watkins for a total of 43 including a 33 yard touchdown reception to put the Hawks up 21-12.

Chowan would force Erskine to punt and get the ball back at their own 34 with 12 seconds left in the half.  Bryce Witt found JaQuan Albright for a 38 yard reception to set up a 45 yard field goal attempt.  Jude McAtamney had the distance, but missed the attempt to the right to end the half, 21-12.

Third Quarter:

The opening drive of the second half started with a nine yard rush by Tyrek McNeil followed by a 22 yard reception by Laurence King.  After a penalty, Bryce Witt found McNeil for a 30 yard reception.  Miles Fairley picked up 16 yards on a catch from Witt before Witt connected again with Imeek Watkins for the short touchdown, 28-12.

Following the touchdown, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called.  The ensuing kick-off would sail out-of-bounds giving Erskine the ball at the CU45.  The defense would hold strong as the Fleet entered the redzone, but three incomplete passes would stall the drive and hand the ball back to the Hawks.

Bryce Witt connected on a pass to Laurence King for 14 yards before Tyrek McNeil tallied eight yards on the ground.  Witt would team up with King again for a 55 yard strike before finding Imeek Watkins for the short touchdown pass.

On the next Chowan drive, Tyrek McNeil gashed the Fleet for 40 yards on the ground.  A personal foul penalty on Erskine put the Hawks in the redzone before Bryce Witt found Laurence King for the 14 yard touchdown pass to lead 42-12.

Erskine looked to have a big play as a tipped pass led to an offensive lineman catching the ball went for 18 yards.  The play would be called back for illegal touching and stalling the drive.

Bryce Witt made quick work on the next drive finding Samuel Dunn down the middle of the field for a 58 yard strike to lead 49-12.

Connor O'Brien would pick up the interception on the next Erskine drive as Simeon Burns deflected the pass allowing O'Brien for the interception.

Fourth Quarter:

Neither side mounted a drive until midway through the fourth quarter as Erskine scored a touchdown with 8:02 remaining to cut the deficit to 49-19.

Keyshawn Douglas forced a fumble on the next possession by the Fleet.  Jakob Streeter returned the fumble for 31 yards allowing the Hawks to seal the game.

UP NEXT

The Hawks will look to do something that has not been done at Chowan during the NCAA era.  That is to go 4-0 to start the season.  Chowan has that chance as the Hawks hit the road to open up CIAA action against St. Augustine's on Saturday, September 25 in CIAA cross-divisional action.  Kick-off is slated for 1pm in Raleigh.