Advertise & Recruit on HBCU CONNECT The #1 way to reach the HBCU community — 300K+ monthly visitors & 1.5M members View the Media Kit →
Quick Search

Active Bloggers

Cata Rizzle Cata Rizzle
Hampton University class of 2001
HBCU CONNECT HBCU CONNECT
Central State University class of 1995
Joel Savage Joel Savage
class of 1993
Dominik Helmfried Dominik Helmfried
class of
Randi Payton Randi Payton
University of the District of Columbia class of 1982
Reginald Claremont Reginald Claremont
Clark Atlanta University class of 1998
Roger The Great Roger The Great
Hampton University class of 1995
P C P C
class of
LaMarr Blackmon LaMarr Blackmon
Cal St Univ, Long Beach class of 1992

Turnovers plague Central State University Marauders in 34-23 loss to Elizabeth City State

Turnovers plague Central State University Marauders in 34-23 loss to Elizabeth City State
Posted By: Reginald Claremont on September 05, 2017


The Central State University Marauders dropped their season opener, 34-23, to Elizabeth City State University on Saturday afternoon.

The Marauders began the game on a high note, scoring the first 14 points. Junior quarterback Trent Mays capped off a 9 play – 68 yard drive with a 5 yard run for CSU’s first score. The offense manufactured an impressive 12 play – 85 yard drive with tight end Martell Clark making a outstretch 10-yard touchdown catch to take the 14-0 lead at the 8:28 mark of the second quarter.

ECSU responded on its next possession when running back Greg Bryan broke through the defense to the open field and went 64 yards down the sidelines for the score.

The final 6:53 of the first half concluded with a barrage of turnovers from both teams. CSU fumbled away its next possession on its own 13 yard line to give ECSU prime field position. ECSU gave the ball right back when quarterback Dequan Neal’s pass was tipped by K’Jamus Sanders and picked off by Javion Williams. The Vikings regained possession right back when Johnathan Turnage came up with a interception off a Mays pass attempt. Neither team managed to manufacture any points off the late first half turnovers as the Marauders remained ahead 14-7 at intermission.

Pinned back inside of their own 10 yard line, a mishandled snap by ECSU gave CSU a safety at the 14:28 mark. From that point on, the Vikings regained their focus and seized momentum, scoring the next 27 points. In a brief appearance, backup quarterback Navarro Price connected with Sayquan Holder for a 34 yard touchdown at the 09:20 mark of the third quarter. Neal was reinserted on the next ECSU drive and led his team on a 78 yard touchdown drive to give his team a 21-16 edge going into the fourth quarter.

After a BJ Harrington interception halted another Marauder drive, ECSU quickly marched 89 yards down the field finished by a Neal touchdown pass to Deon Yarborough.



The Vikings added another touchdown at with 9:29 left on the clock when Neal found Yarborough through the air for 50 yards and ran it in himself from two yards out on the next play to increase the lead to 34-16.

CSU added a touchdown with 6:06 remaining and recovered the ensuing onside kick, but any hopes of a CSU comeback fizzled out when BJ Harrington collected his third interception of the afternoon on a tipped pass. The ECSU offense took over and successfully ran out the clock.

Neal led the way for the Viking offense throwing for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns and adding 1 rushing touchdown. On the defensive side, Harrington set a school record with 3 interceptions in a single game to go along with 7 tackles.

In his first start at quarterback, Mays stood out for CSU on the offensive side of the ball, throwing for 197 yards and 1 touchdown while rushing for 2 touchdowns. Freshman linebacker Kailen Abrams finished with 11 tackles to lead the Marauder defense.

The Marauders will regroup and prepare to travel to Clark Atlanta University next Saturday. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 6 pm.

Quotes – Central State Head Coach Cedric Pearl

“We have to be better when it comes to protecting the ball. We can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to win.”

“Our guys were unable to match the energy of ECSU in the second half. We made mistakes and they took advantage of them when it counted.”

“We evaluate our overall performance through film sessions over the next few days and work on correcting our mistakes. I expect our guys to come to practice motivated and ready to move forward to next week.”

“Entering next week, we know we are going to face another good quarterback. Coach Ramsey always does a great job with his team at Clark Atlanta. CAU had a solid win this week and will come in to next week’s game with a high level of intensity. We will be ready while continuing to place emphasis on playing disciplined football.”

Next Game:
Date: Sept. 9
Opponent: Clark Atlanta University
Time: 6 pm
Venue: CAU Panther Stadium
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email!
Comments
Please Login To Post Comments...
Email:
Password:

 
More From This Author
FAMU Partners With JCPenney to Help Students Dress for Success
BLOOM Professional Development Day 2026: Unbothered & Unstoppable
Callback brings job discovery, application preparation and application tracking into one app
Build Your Future at Lundbeck: Explore Career Opportunities in Brain Health
Launch your Career in TV or Radio
Honda USA Foundation Launches Drive the Legacy Fund to Evolve Support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Latest News
FAMU Partners With JCPenney to Help Students Dress for Success

FAMU Partners With JCPenney to Help Students Dress for Success

More than 250 Florida A&M University students received support in preparing for upcoming career opportunities through the Suit Up JCPenney event, which provided access to discounted professional attir ...more
Reginald Claremont • 132 Views • September 23rd, 2026
For Your Grammy Consideration: James Artissen - Blank Face

For Your Grammy Consideration: James Artissen - Blank Face

For Your Grammy Consideration. Artist: James Artissen Song: Blank Face Genre: Dance, Pop, R&B Label: Humble Sound Records Category: Best Dance Pop Recording #JamesArtissen #BlankFace #Gram ...more
Lenell Johnson • 127 Views • September 23rd, 2026
Popular News
Louisiana Upholds Life Sentence to Black Man For Stealing Hedge Trimmers in 1997

Louisiana Upholds Life Sentence to Black Man For Stealing Hedge Trimmers in 1997

While this may not be HBCU related news, as an AFrican American male, I had to share this appalling decision by the Louisiana court system to keep a man in jail with a life sentence for such a petty c ...more
Roger The Great • 405,761 Views • August 6th, 2020
Blonde Instagram Model Goes Viral for Graduating from HBCU and Pledging Delta Sigma Theta!

Blonde Instagram Model Goes Viral for Graduating from HBCU and Pledging Delta Sigma Theta!

A blonde woman is going viral this morning, for graduating from A Historically Black College while pledging a Black sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. @Blonde_HBCU The woman, an IG ...more
Roger The Great • 190,058 Views • November 30th, 2020
Apple to Invest over $40 Million Dollars into HBCUs - Time to major in Computer Science!!!

Apple to Invest over $40 Million Dollars into HBCUs - Time to major in Computer Science!!!

On Tuesday Johnny C. Taylor, President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund stopped by “NewsOne Now” to make a major announcement that could literally change the lives of thousands of HBCU st ...more
Roger The Great • 130,937 Views • March 11th, 2015
North Carolina HBCU Unity Day

North Carolina HBCU Unity Day

Shaw University - Elizabeth City State University - Johnson C. Smith University - Fayetteville State University - Livingstone College - North Carolina A&T State University - North Carolina Central Uni ...more
Reginald Claremont • 117,117 Views • August 8th, 2016
Black Billionaire Robert F. Smith to  Donate $50 Million to Support STEM Students at HBCUs

Black Billionaire Robert F. Smith to Donate $50 Million to Support STEM Students at HBCUs

The Student Freedom Initiative announced today a $50 million personal gift from Robert F. Smith, philanthropist and Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. This gift matches the initial fu ...more
Roger The Great • 86,496 Views • October 22nd, 2020
Please Give Us a Like on Facebook!
Featured Members