ETTRICK, VA – The Trojans will be inside of Rogers stadium for the last time this weekend for a Senior Day matchup against Chowan University as the squad will look to take advantage of a Hawks team on a three-game skid heading into their final road game. The game will kick-off on October 30, 2021 at 2:00pm inside of Rogers stadium in Ettrick, Virginia.
 
 
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 After an 0-3 start to the season, Virginia State found a spark after the tough road loss to FSU winning three of their last four games. Since the road loss to the Broncos, the VSU offense averages 34 points per game. The Trojans have taken pride in defending their home field, as the squad has been undefeated since home opener against nationally ranked Lenoir-Rhyne. VSU took care of Lincoln (Pa.) last week scoring 23 unanswered points, which produced a score of 23-3. The win improves their CIAA record down to 3-2 and makes their overall record 3-4. Chowan enters the weekend coming off of a, 32-28, loss against Elizabeth City State University. The Hawks loss to the Vikings moved the squad to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
 
 
Virginia State leads the series 7-2 winning six of the last seven match ups dating back to 2013. The last matchup saw VSU take down CU in a close, 28-21, victory on the road in a week nine match-up in 2019. The VSU rushing attack stole the show in the afternoon match-up as the VSU running backs accounted for 284 rushing yards along with four touchdowns.
 
 
Offensively, the Trojan offense continued to dominate the opposing defense last week as the squad out earned the Lions in every significant statistical category. Behind the leadership of Chauncey Caldwell, the aerial attack from the VSU offense amassed 195 yards averaging 12 yards per completion. Caldwell has accumulated 334 passing yards with five total touchdowns in just two games this year. For the third week in a row, Darius Hagans has been the leading rusher for the Trojans as he accounted for 51 yards and a score a week ago. Marquez Phillips continues to lead the receiving core with 23 receptions for 277 yards and two touchdowns on the year. Phillips was the leading receiver yet again for the Trojans with six catches for 76 yards in the homecoming victory. Nicholas Woolfolk outscored the Lions offense a week ago accounting for 11 points. Woolfolk was perfect on the afternoon hitting three-of-three field goals (32, 31, 33) along with two extra points.
 
 
It was evident the VSU defense had at chip on their shoulders from the BSU game as the group held Lincoln (Pa.) to only three points. Javon Frazier (1st) and Adonte Braxton (4th) remain atop of the conference in sacks as the tandem combines for 15.5 sacks on the year. Zion Johnson leads the linebackers with 48 tackles along with a sack. 32 solo tackles ranks Will Adams 50th in the country and third in the conference as he averages 7.4 solo tackles per game. Kymon Pope is coming off his breakout performance as he posted one of the best stat lines of the year with a team-high 11 tackles along with two sacks and an interception. The secondary has been solid all season accounting for 27 pass break ups with three interceptions. Vincent Parker and Willie Drew combine for 10 pass breakups on the year. The VSU defense has forced a turnover in every game this season and will look to continue the trend as the seniors will strap up for the last time at Rogers stadium.
 
 
For Chowan, the offense averages 40 points per game this season as they have scored the most touchdowns (43) of all CIAA teams. The offense ranks top 10 in the country in first downs, completion percentage, team passing efficiency and 11^th in scoring offense. The squads' best performance came against Winston-Salem State scoring a conference-high 73 points. Bryce Witt showed his NFL arm can make every throw on the field as he is the all-time leader in passing yards (6,584) and touchdowns (68). Witt is on pace to break his own record in passing touchdowns in a season (27) entering play with 25 with two games left. He broke his own record in a losing effort last time out with 474 passing yards against ECSU. Not only is Witt a gunslinger with 2,392 passing yards (10^th in the country), he is also deadly efficient with a 68% completion percentage (6^th in the country) with only four interceptions.  Witt also uses his 235-pound frame in the red zone accounting for a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns. His best game this year came against Saint Augustine's University where he scored eight total touchdowns (four rushing, four passing) along with 240 passing yards. Tyrek McNeil and Jaylon Boyd prove to have a thunder and lightning affect in the CU backfield. McNeil has 440 rushing yards along with 182 receiving yards while Boyd adds five red zone touchdowns on the year. The Chowan receiving core is one of the best they have had in history as the group combines for 178 receptions and 2,440 yards. Laurence King (658) and Imeek Watkins (657) sit second and third in the conference in receiving yards and tie for first in receiving touchdowns with eight. King has scored in six of eight games on the season with his best performance coming against SAU where he had a hat trick along with 10 grabs from 92 yards. Watkins does his scoring in spurts as his best game came against Erskine where he scored four touchdowns on just five receptions. The only weakness of this offense proves to be pass blocking as the guys up front have given up 20 sacks in the season. Simeon Burns leads the team in tackles with 30 solo tackles, which ranks him 13^th in the conference.  The Hawks pass rush has been a problem for offensive lines all year with Gilberto Ortiz (7), Isaac Anderson (8) and Rafiq Abdul-Wahid (7.5) all ranking within the top-10 in sacks in the 2021 season. The Lions secondary has been solid all season as Keshawn Pickett leads the CIAA in pass breakups (10).
 
 
*In order to attend the game, fans must be fully vaccinated (with a valid vaccination card) and one form of identification.
 
 
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