Livingstone-Shaw preview box
Published 12:35 am Saturday, October 15, 2016
SHAW (0-6, 0-3 CIAA) at LIVINGSTONE (1-5, 0-3 CIAA)
Alumni Memorial Stadium — Today, 1:30 p.m. — Homecoming
Live stats available at www.bluebearathletics.com
COACHES: Livingstone — Daryl Williams’ record is 14-21, in his 4th season. Shaw — Adrian Jones is in his first season at Shaw after coaching running backs at N.C. Central. Jones was on staff at N.C. Central that won two CIAA championships (2005 and 2006) and two MEAC titles (2014 and 2015). Jones was head coach at Southern High School in Durham in 2013 and led his team to the N.C. 3-AA state championship.
LAST WEEK: The Blue Bears were home against St. Augustine’s last Sunday, after moving its game back a day due to rains from Hurricane Matthew. Livingstone fell, 38-37, in two overtimes in a wide-open contest. Trailing most of the second half, the Blue Bears rallied, tying the score at 28-28 midway through the fourth quarter. After both teams had field goals in the first OT, both scored touchdowns in the next period. However, Livingstone failed on the extra point attempt and the Falcons escaped Salisbury with the one-point victory.
Shaw’s Bears also lost a heart-breaker last week, falling to Fayetteville State in the rain, 7-6. Shaw managed just 198 total yards and eight first downs, but again, the weather was a factor.
LAST YEAR: Livingstone won, 41-22, in Durham, but that’s just the beginning of the story. Down, 14-0, in the second quarter, the Blue Bears battled back and cut the deficit to 14-13. Shaw then drove to Livingstone’s two-yard and were poised to retake the lead. However, defensive end Armond Cox scooped up a fumble for Livingstone and rolled 98 yards for a game-changing TD.
The Blue Bears never looked back after that and behind QB Drew Powell and running back Jarius Richardson, they built a 41-14 advantage.
SERIES: Shaw leads, 14-13-5 and today is the 33rd meeting between the schools. The first game was played in 1901 but Shaw eventually dropped football before reinstating it in 2002. The Blue Bears have won the last two games in the series. Shaw last won in 2013, a 45-21 decision in Raleigh.
WATCH FOR: Starting quarterback Xavier Longerbeam, a red-shirt freshman from Panama City, Fla., completed 17 of 24 passes against St. Augustine’s for 229 yards and four touchdowns. He did throw an interception late in the first half but his teammates blocked a field goal to keep points off of the board from that turnover. Longerbeam led the Blue Bears back from a 28-20 deficit and led them to a brief, 37-31 lead in the second OT, before the missed extra point and ensuing Falcons’ score.
Shaw is last in the 12-team CIAA in total offense with 211 yards and 12 points per game. Shaw is actually 166th out of 170 in the NCAA II total offense category.Defensively, the Bears allow 380 yards per game. Livingstone is scoring 16 points per game and averaging 291 yards per game.
Livingstone’s defense is ranked fourth in the CIAA, allowing just 326 yards of total offense per game.
