Saturday, 15, 2007

Livingstone Falls 45-7 in Home Opener to Virginia Union

Salisbury, NC – The Blue Bears of Livingstone College scored first in its home opener to Virginia Union University (3-0) but fizzled out to a 45-7 defeat. The Panthers scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to hold a 28-7 lead at the half. Union’s Quarterback Lamar Little rushed nine times for 146 yards and completed nine of 21 pass-attempts for 152 yards. The Blue Bears’ Lionel Vincent finished with a game high 12 tackles.

On Virginia Union’s fourth drive, Lamar Little fumbled the ball on its 35-yard line giving way for Bernard Taylor to scoop it up and dash into the end-zone for the score. Joshua Feliciano nailed the extra point attempt for the 7-0 lead with 3:39 remaining in the first quarter.

Virginia Union answered the call on its next drive in six plays and 56 yards. Lamar Little connected with Phillip Taylor for 11 yards and the score. The drive lasted two minutes and four seconds. On the Panthers next drive after receiving the ball from a punt, Virginia Union drove 52 yards in nine plays for its second score. Elihu Smith danced four yards into pay dirt with 7:27 remaining in the half.

Livingstone – backed up on its 23-yard – fumbled the ball on the 15-yard line. Cornerback Steven Tilghman recovered the fumble and advanced it passed the goal-line for a 21-7 lead at 3:14 in the second quarter. Little added an exclamation point prior to the half with nine seconds remaining in the half with a touchdown connection to Steven Miller for a 15-yard score.

After intermission, the Panthers continued to added points on the scoreboard. Gil Hernandez nailed a 24-yard field goal to open the third quarter with 9:50 on the clock. Phillip Taylor pulled in a 90-yard touchdown pass from Little to bump the score to 38-7. Lamar Little, who will be in contention for the CIAA Offensive Back of the Week, scored the final touchdown of the game with 14:05 remaining. He scampered into pay-land off of a 46-yard run around the field.

Of the 475 total offensive yards by Virginia Union, Lamar Little accounted for 298 of them. Elihu Smith finished with 91 rushing yards and one touchdown while Phillip Taylor finished with 117 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Vincent led the Blue Bears defense while Taylor scored a defensive touchdown for the Blue Bears. LC finished the game with 128 yards from 55 plays. The team netted 68 rushing yards and 60 passing yards. The Blue Bears were whistled for seven penalties and 72 yards.

Livingstone will face Virginia State University (2-2 overall) next weekend in Salem, Virginia at the Western Virginia Education Classic. Kickoff will be at 2:00 pm.