# 2023 Livingstone Blue Bears football team

The 2023 Livingstone Blue Bears football team was an American football team that represented Livingstone College as a member of the Southern Division of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) during the 2023 NCAA Division II football season. In their second year under head coach Sean Gilbert, the Blue Bears compiled a 4–6 record (4–4 in CIAA games) and tied for third place in the CIAA's Southern Division. They were expected to finish in 11th place in the CIAA, but won consecutive upset victories over Bowie State and Winston-Salem State.
The team's statistical leaders included Marcus Drish with 960 passing yards, Matthew Henry with 650 receiving yards, JyMikah Wells with 254 rushing yards, Devontay Deloatch and Matthew Henry with 36 points each, and Jaden Echols with 80 total tackles. Henry gave himself the nickname "Mr. Waffle House" for being "always open".
Livingstone played home games at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury, North Carolina.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Bluefield State* | Alumni Memorial StadiumSalisbury, NC | L 7–41 | 3,287 |
| September 9 | 6:00 p.m. | at Catawba* | Shuford StadiumSalisbury, NC | L 15–55 | 3,374 |
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 17 Virginia Union | Alumni Memorial StadiumSalisbury, NC | L 20–28 | 1,250 |
| September 23 | 6:00 p.m. | at Virginia State | Rogers StadiumPetersburg, VA | L 0–33 | 38 |
| September 30 | 4:00 p.m. | Bowie State | Alumni Memorial StadiumSalisbury, NC | W 31–18 | 2,753 |
| October 7 | 1:00 p.m. | at Winston-Salem State | Bowman Gray StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | W 23–21 | 1,202 |
| October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | at Fayetteville State | Luther "Nick" Jeralds StadiumFayetteville, NC | L 14–19 | 1,835 |
| October 21 | 1:30 p.m. | Shaw | Alumni Memorial StadiumSalisbury, NC | W 27–26 | 4,501 |
| October 28 | 4:00 p.m. | St. Augustine's | Alumni Memorial StadiumSalisbury, NC | W 34–14 | 1,092 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Johnson C. Smith | Irwin Belk ComplexCharlotte, NC | L 17–38 | 3,333 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Virginia Union

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Virginia Union | 0 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| Livingstone | 13 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
at Alumni Memorial Stadium • Salisbury, North Carolina
* Date: Sunday, September 16, 2023
* Game time: 6:00 P.M. EST
* Game attendance: 1,250
* Referee: A. Randolph
* Box score
| Statistics | VUU | LIV |
| First downs | 20 | 12 |
| Plays–yards | 393 | 332 |
| Rushes–yards | 320 | 313 |
| Passing yards | 73 | 19 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 5–9–2 | 18–29–4 |
| Time of possession | 33:47 | 26:13 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Virginia Union | Passing | Christian Reid | 5/8, 73 yards, 2 INTs |
| Virginia Union | Rushing | Rashard Jackson | 32 carries, 185 yards, 2 TDs |
| Virginia Union | Receiving | Said Sadibe | 2 receptions, 50 yards |
| Livingstone | Passing | Brenton Hilton | 17/26, 314 yards, 3 TDs, 4 INTs |
| Livingstone | Rushing | JyMikaah Wells | 11 carries, 14 yards |
| Livingstone | Receiving | Angelo Carrillo | 5 receptions, 147 yards, 1 TD |

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position |
| Sean Gilbert | Head coach |
| Michael Austin | Assistant head coach Defensive coordinator |
| Mark Williams | Associate head coach Co–Defensive coordinator Recruiting coordinator Defensive line coach |
| Troy Veale | Defensive special assistant |
| Christian LaMay | Offensive coordinator Quarterbacks coach |
| J. C. McDonald | Offensive special assistant |
| Ebony Kimbrough | Special teams coordinator Running backs coach |
| Marcelo Cavers | Wide receivers coach |
| Robert Sherrod | Offensive line coach |
| Markeem Bell | Graduate assistant Assistant linebackers coach |
| Otis Powell | Defensive backs coach |
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