Week four of the 2014 football season has arrived and our teams continue to battle for a spot in the CIAA postseason. Leaves are changing but the goal is still the same, to win the CIAA football championship. Let’s see who’s taking the field this weekend.
Bowie State @ Winston-Salem State (1:00 P.M.)
Home games have been scarce for Winston-Salem State early on but it hasn’t affected their play, as they improved to 3-1 after a nail-biting road win over Virginia State. They’ll play host to Bowie State who grabbed their first win of the season last week over Livingstone. The series between the two teams has been rather streaky, as Bowie State has taken the last three (including Bowie State’s most recent victory in 2019), but Winston-Salem State took the previous four.
Livingstone @ Lincoln (PA) (1:00 P.M.)
Coming off week three losses, Livingstone and Lincoln (PA) will go head-to-head for a week four matchup. Livingstone has shown some promise early on coming in at 2-2, while the Lions are in search of their first win and will do so on their home turf for the first time this season. The Blue Bears are 4-0 in the program series, having most recently defeated the Lions in 2019.
Shaw @ Virginia Union (1:00 P.M.)
Two teams headed in opposite directions will face off this Saturday as Shaw (3-1), who’s coming off a blowout victory over Lincoln (PA) will head to Virginia Union (1-2), who have dropped their last two games. The reigning champion Panthers have won three of the last four matchups against Shaw and will look to continue that pattern against a Shaw team that has eclipsed 28+ points in three of their four games this season.
Fayetteville State @ Virginia State (2:00 P.M.)
Fayetteville State improved to 2-1 last week with a big win over ECSU and will hit the road to take on Virginia State who have lost two consecutive nail biters, having lost by a combined six points in the last two games. The history of this matchup runs deep, dating back decades. Since 1986, the two teams have battled 25 times, with Virginia State holding a 16-9 advantage. They last took the field back in 2021, which saw the Broncos come out on top, 28-14.
Johnson C. Smith vs. Bluefield State (6:00 P.M.)
Johnson C. Smith comes in as the lone undefeated team in the CIAA, and they’ll look to improve to 5-0 as they’ll head to Bluefield State, who are coming off a big non-conference loss to Emory & Henry. The two teams don’t have a short history of matchups, only having played each of the last three seasons. The Big Blue won the first two, but the Golden Bulls won last season, 30-13.
