Livingstone’s two-time defending champions are in sixth place in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and the Blue Bears are facing a crucial contest against Winston-Salem State on Saturday.

Coach Greg Richardson’s Bears, 1-2 in the CIAA and 2-3 overall, take on the second-place Rams (2-0, 2-2) at 4 p.m. at Statesville High School’s Greyhound Stadium.

Virginia State, a 17-0 winner over Livingstone here last Saturday, leads the CIAA at 3-0. Winston-Salem, a 44-0 winner over Fayetteville State in its last outing, is the only other team unbeaten within the conference.

Virginia Union, a 24-6 winner over Livingstone on Sept. 26, is in third place at 2-1, followed by North Carolina Central and Fayetteville State, each 1-1.

Livingstone was in a similar position a year ago, when Rudy Abrams was head coach, but the second league loss came later in the season to North Carolina Central. Virginia Union stayed on top with one loss until suffering two defeats late in the season. That left Livingstone and Winston-Salem all alone at the top with 5-2 marks. The Bears won the title on the basis of their 38-33 victory at Winston-Salem at midseason.

“Some of our goals are still there, but now it’s very difficult when you don’t take care of your own business,” said Richardson. “Now you have to depend on other people to help you out. We’re not out of it, but our backs are definitely against the wall.”

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EXPLOSIVE RAMS: Winston- Salem hasn’t scored a lot of points (20.5 per game), but the Rams still have the ability to strike quickly. In a season-opening 17-14 loss to Catawba, the Rams were shut out for three quarters, then rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and missed a last-second field goal that could have tied the score.

“They’re a power offense, but also they have the elements of the option in their offense,” said Richardson. “It’s going to be assignment football. If you don’t take care of your responsibilities, they can hit you with the big play at any minute. I think that’s what they did against Catawba. That’s something we have to be mindful of and careful of when we prepare for them.”

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STINGY DEFENSE: Richardson is mainly concerned with the Rams’ defensive unit, which has allowed averages of only 9.2 points, 219.2 total yards and 82.5 rushing yards through four games.

The Livingstone coach hopes to balance the offense more so that running back Carlton Jones, the No. 2 rusher in the CIAA with 438 yards won’t have to carry most of the offensive load against the Rams.

“Part of the problem, when we’ve lost games, is that we haven’t had a real good balance between running and passing. We’re refining our game plan, and we’re hoping to make the passing a major part of our game,” said Richardson.

Quarterback D’Andre Hopper of the Bears leads the CIAA in total offense with his 212.8 yards per game. He’s thrown for 130.6 yards per contest, third best in the conference.

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HOMECOMING: Livingstone’s star sophomore running back, Carlton Jones, is looking forward to the offense being more balanced. He’s also looking forward to playing in Statesville, since he played high school football at nearby North Iredell.

“Maybe he (Hopper) can open up the game by throwing to the receivers and that way open up the running game,” said Jones, who led the CIAA in rushing as a freshman, when former teammate Ray Chambers also carried the ball a lot. Chambers left school just before the season opened.

“I’m not saying we haven’t missed a beat,” said Jones, “because, with Ray being here, that would give us a lot of experience. But Lamontee’ Stephens is a great back. He leads well, and he blocks well.”

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VERSATILITY: Sophomore wide receiver Shannon Gainey, who played a lot at running back last year, may be used in the backfield more this week.

“He’s such an explosive player,” said Richardson. “He’s so versatile that we think that we want to get him the ball even more to take some of the pressure off Carl, our other fine running back.”