SALISBURY, N.C. — The Livingstone College Blue Bears fell to the Elizabeth City State University Vikings, 34-26, on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Memorial Stadium.
Livingstone opened the scoring with a 34-yard field goal by
Jason Zapata, but Elizabeth City State responded with a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. The Vikings added another touchdown just 40 seconds later and continued to build momentum, scoring twice more in the second quarter to take a 28-3 lead.
The Blue Bears answered late in the first half when quarterback
Brandon Edinburgh Jr. connected with Tikey Hayes for a 40-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 28-10 at halftime.
Livingstone continued to fight in the second half, adding a 33-yard field goal from Zapata before Edinburgh Jr. scored on a two-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. The Blue Bears' efforts brought the score to 28-19 heading into the fourth quarter.
Elizabeth City State added a one-yard rushing touchdown with 1:55 remaining to extend its lead to 34-19. Livingstone responded in the closing seconds with an 11-yard touchdown pass from
Andrew McClain to himself, followed by Zapata's extra point, but the late rally was not enough to overcome the Vikings' lead.
Edinburgh Jr. led the Blue Bears' offensive effort with 164 passing yards, while Hayes contributed 46 receiving yards and a touchdown. Zapata added two field goals and two extra points.
Despite a strong second-half effort, Livingstone was unable to complete the comeback and fell to 2-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play. Elizabeth City State improved to 2-6 overall and 2-4 in conference action.
The Blue Bears will be back at home next Saturday, October 31, for the West End Classic where they will host Virginia University of Lynchburg at 2 p.m.
