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| Maurice Lewis ran for 189 yards against Fayetteville State on Saturday. (Garrett Garms/WSSU photo) |
After ten weeks of football, the championship matchups for both the CIAA and the SIAC are set. Winston-Salem State (9-1, 8-0) and Virginia State (9-1,8-0) will play in the CIAA Championship Game at WSSU’s Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday. In the SIAC, Miles (6-3, 4-1) and Albany State (5-4, 4-0) will face off on Saturday at Lakewood Stadium.
Virginia State entered the day with its championship seat already punched. VSU pounded rival Virginia Union 46-3 to finish the regular season with just one loss.
Winston-Salem State’s championship hopes hinged on holding off a surging Fayetteville State team, hungry to make a name for itself. The Rams never trailed in the game, but the Broncos hung around, getting it as close as 21-14 late in the fourth quarter. Then this happened…
For the second week in a row, true freshman Chase Powell came up with the game-sealing catch for Winston-Salem State as WSSU won 28-14.
Over in the SIAC, Albany State managed to comeback from a second half deficit against Fort Valley State to grind out a 19-10 win. And Miles earned its ticket by upsetting Tuskegee, the defending conference champion, 41-36.
Division II HBCU Power Rankings
1. Winston-Salem State-WSSU had another close call against a good Fayetteville State team, yet the Rams found a way to win.
2. Virginia State-VSU won its eighth straight game, the last three of which have been blowouts.
3. Miles-Miles shocked the world by upending Tuskegee to earn a spot in the SIAC championship game.
4. Fayetteville State-FSU made big strides in its first season under new coach Lawerence Kershaw.
5. Tuskegee-Skegee’s playoff hopes took a big hit with the loss to Miles.