Alexis Pitchford
Staff Writer
The countdown is over! Even though North Carolina may be known as the Hoop State, everyone has a love for college football. Here’s a rundown of this past weekend’s action from schools across the state, across all levels.
On the Division I level, there were several in-state matchups. NC State defeated East Carolina, 34-6, in front of their home crowd, then trounced the Western Carolina Catamounts 41-0. North Carolina A&T made a name for themselves by defeating Elon, 24-21, with a game winning field goal in front of their home crowd as well. Unfortunately, that momentum was stopped by Duke, as the Aggies were crushed 45-13. As for the Phoenix, they beat the Citadel 35-28 on Saturday afternoon.
UNCG is a member of the Southern Conference, and two of our conference counterparts played in North Carolina against Appalachian State and Western Carolina. Appalachian State destroyed East Tennessee State, 42-7. In a Week 1 SOCON matchup, Western Carolina lost their home opener to Mercer, 49-27. In other Week 1 matchups, the Campbell Camels lost to Troy, 43-14. NC Central lost to Austin Peay, 41-10. The Eagles traveled to Maryland to face Towson. They were crushed, 42-3.
With the launch of the ACC Network, there were several big ACC football matchups. Wake Forest defeated Utah State, 38-35, in a close-knit game at home two weeks ago. The Demon Deacons then continued their hot start by defeating Rice 41-21. In the Battle of the Carolinas, UNC Chapel Hill defeated South Carolina, 24-20, then beat Miami 28-25 in their first home game of the year. In the largest Week 1 matchup for the ACC, Duke lost to SEC powerhouse, Alabama, 42-3 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Division 2 football was set to start last weekend, despite some delays thanks to Hurricane Dorian. On the other hand, some teams have started their seasons early to get ahead of the game. Elizabeth City State lost to Big South member, Hampton, 65-7 in Week 1. Wingate travelled to Charlotte to destroy Johnson C. Smith in their home opener, 42-6, on Thursday. On Saturday, Catawba hosted West Georgia and was pummeled 37-9. Chowan lost 40-22 at UVA-Wise. Fayetteville State hosted Benedict College and won 35-21. Mars Hill traveled to SOCON-member Virginia Military Institute. The Keydets won handily, 65-21. Livingstone hit the road to Atlanta, Georgia to face Clark Atlanta and won 24-13. Campbell won their home opener vs Shaw, 38-14. UNC Pembroke’s match against Winston Salem State has been postponed due to the hurricane.
There has to be some appreciation for Division 3 football, since Greensboro College and Guilford College are right up the road from the G. Greensboro College went to Newport News, VA to face Newport News Apprentice School and lost 23-8, while Guilford College also started 0-1, losing a 69-43 barnburner to Huntingdon. NC Wesleyan traveled to face Emory and Henry in Virginia and won 31-24 in OT. Methodist’s matchup at Shenandoah University has been postponed due to Hurricane Dorian.
Next week will feature some of the first crucial local matchups of the young season: North Carolina travels to Wake Forest on Friday night, while Wofford heads to Samford for its first SoCon action of the year.
Categories: Sports
THE CAROLINIAN 
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