Staff report
SALISBURY — Livingstone’s football team has a tough bounce-back assignment, as the Blue Bears will head to Fayetteville State on Saturday.
Kickoff for the CIAA game is set for 1:30 p.m. at 5,520-seat Jeralds Stadium.
Things were going well for Livingstone (3-2, 2-1) prior to last week’s trip to Elizabeth City State, where the Blue Bears were smacked in the third quarter by a previously winless team.
Fayetteville State (3-3, 3-0) comes into this game feeling good, as the Broncos are one of the two unbeaten teams in league play, along with Virginia Union. FSU has taken care of Elizabeth City State, Virginia state and Bowie State without much trouble in recent weeks. The 51-8 romp against ECSU’s Vikings is a little scary when you consider that Livingstone lost to ECSU last week.
Livingstone is a 23-point underdog on this road trip, according to the Massey Ratings.
The main guy for Fayetteville State is QB Demari Daniels, a dual-threat athlete. He had a pretty good passing day in a 38-10 win against Bowie State, but he did as much damage on the ground with 74 rushing yards and two scores.
Livingstone got wrecked by a dual-threat QB last week in the form of ECSU’s Christopher Perkins, honored as CIAA Quarterback of the Week for the mayhem he created against the Blue Bears.
Livingstone’s defense struggled to contain Perkins, but the offense had one of its better games last week. Quarterback Elijah Alexander threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns. His top target, Tavion Jackson, caught eight passes for 127 yards.
The only reigning CIAA Player of the Week for Fayetteville State is John Hernandez-Vargas. He’s the kicker.
Livingstone knocked off the Broncos 24-19 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in 2024, but Fayetteville State had won seven in a row in the series prior to that.
