Virginia Union defeated Livingstone 24-6 at Alumni Stadium on Sept. 18, getting the defending champs off to an 0-1 CIAA start.

Union, the preseason favorite, dropped back to 1-1 on Saturday with a 17-0 loss at Winston-Salem State. Livingstone is also 1-1 after its 42-14 romp at Bowie State.

“It did not surprise me,” said Richardson. “I told our kids they(Union) would lose. I told our kids they would be back in the championship hunt this week, and it came to pass.”

Union’s strong ground game was the main reason the Panthers defeated Livingstone, but Richardson respected Winston-Salem State’s defense.

“I said that whomever would shut down Virginia Union’s running game would have an advantage,” he said. “They (Winston-Salem) did shut down Virginia Union’s running game. I think they had 159 yards total offense — which is what they did last year to Virginia Union also.”

Now, for the second straight week,Livingstone takes on a CIAA leader, because Virginia State is the only conference team with a 2-0 record. Winston-Salem State and Fayetteville State are each 1-0.

“With the loss of Virginia Union to Winston-Salem, it puts us back into a position of where we can virtually control our own destiny in terms of how far we go in the conference race,” said the Livingstone coach. “We’re happy to be back in that type of situation and hope that we are going to build on it.”

Saturday’s game, the Salisbury City Football Classic, starts at 4 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.

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MONOPOLY: Virginia State, which leads the series with Livingstone 11-8-1, and the Blue Bears have won the last four CIAA championships.

The Bulldogs, coached by Lou Anderson, won the conference title in 1995 and 1996. Rudy Abrams, now North Carolina Central’s head man, coached Livingstone to the 1997 and 1998 crowns.

Livingstone beat the Bulldogs 42-29 last season and will be seeking its third win in a row over Virginia State.

“They’re well coached. They have a lot of pride; they’re used to winning. Of course, they have a big rivalry with us,” exclaimed Richardson. “They are going to come in ready to play against us, and, of course, they have things on the line too, because they’re undefeated in the conference at this point. If we beat them, it would throw the conference kind of wide open.”

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AERIAL ATTACK: Virginia State ranks No. 2 in the CIAA in passing yardage with 204.5 per game. Quarterback Antonio Hawkins has completed 58 of 118 for 818 yards and five touchdowns.

“They do throw the ball well, but what we also need to be concerned about is their running game. When they are able to throw and run, it makes it very difficult on your defense to stop them. If they are allowed to run for 100 yards a game or more, it’s going to make our task more difficult,” said Richardson.

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TOUGH SECONDARY: Virginia State has a strong passing game, but Livingstone is strong in pass defense, having intercepted nine passes. VSU’s Hawkins has also been intercepted 10 times.

“Our secondary does lead the conference in pass interceptions. We also lead the conference in pass defense efficiency,” pointed out Richardson. “We are probably one of the best in the country (NCAA Division II) at this point.”

Senior free safety TornellJones of the Bears is tied for the CIAA lead in number of interceptions with three and ranks tied for second in interceptions per game (0.75).

“We have a veteran secondary, guys that have been together two or three years. It’s going to be a challenge to them. The Virginia State quarterback is very accurate,” said Richardson. “We are going to have to be very disciplined and work very hard against their passing routes.

As for Jones, a 6-foot, 195-pounder from Virginia Beach, Va., the coach said, “Tornell Jones has been a very good player for the last several years. He’s kind of a quiet type of leader. He goes out and does a good job. You don’t see a lot of spectacular things from him, but you look up and he picks off several balls here and there. He’s kind of a deceptive kind of player.”

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CIAA HONORS: Three Livingstone players were honored as players of the week by the CIAA for their efforts against Bowie State.

Tremayne Gilmore, a 6-foot, 260-pound senior who played mostly on defense until this season, was picked as offensive lineman of the week after the Bears amassed 588 total yards, 448 on the ground.

Wide receiver Shannon Gainey caught two touchdown passes for 97 yards and, rushed for 21 yards and added 51 return yards to earn receiver of the week honors.

Junior Jim Terry punted six times for an average of 36.4 yards and connected on six straight extra-point kicks to be named specialty player of the week.