Oct. 27, 2007

Final Stats

Fayetteville State University came to Charlotte, N.C. with a plan on their mind. They needed a win to stay alive in the hunt for the western division crown, and they wanted to avenge last season's loss to the Golden Bulls. JCSU wanted to give their fans, alumni, and especially JCSU president Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy a Homecoming victory. Unfortunately, Fayetteville State emerged victorious by a score of 31-21 in front of 7,239 Golden Bull fans.

The Broncos came out firing on the opening drive marching 53 yards down the field to score on a one yard run by Travis Green. On the ensuing kick-off, a 50-yard return by none other than De'Audra Dix was negated when he fumbled the ball. The Broncos' Nate Hudgens recovered the ball, returning it 17 yards for excellent field position at the JCSU 38-yard line. On the very next play, Bobby Wilder caught a 38-yard bomb from Bryan Hardy, and with 10:00 remaining in the first quarter, the Broncos were up 14-0.

JCSU then hit the scoreboard with no time remaining in the first quarter on a 4-yard run by Kevin Allen. Allen had his second touchdown of the day, this time on a 2-yard run mid-way through the second quarter. He finished with 20 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremy Franklin, the league's leading receiver in several categories, had another 100+ yard outing as he caught 5 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Franklin is the leading candidate for the CIAA's Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Bryan Hardy had his first passing touchdown of the day when he found Bobby Wilder for a 31-yard touchdown despite being defended pretty well by B.J. Revis. The score going into intermission was 21-14 in favor of the Broncos. Hardy ended the day completing 11-of-20 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. He added 90 yards on the ground on 11 carries.

Statistically speaking, JCSU and Fayetteville State played a balanced game. FSU racked up on 415 yards of total offense, while the gold and blue were not far behind with 410. The key was the third-down conversions for FSU. The Broncos converted 7 of 14 while Smith was only successful three of 10 times.

"I thought our guys played well in spots," remarked head coach Daryl C. McNeill, Sr. "Fayetteville State did a tremendous job in their third down conversions. We were right there throughout the ball game. I was really proud of our kids when they fought back from the early 14-0 deficit. It just seems as if we were just one play or one tackle away from that go ahead."

In only his second game after awaiting a ruling on transfer eligibility status, B.L. Williams had an outstanding game. The nose guard led all defenders with 13 total tackles (5 solo, 8 assisted), one for a loss of two yards. Another Williams, this time Steven Williams was not far behind with 11 total tackles. Garrison McCormick and Marshall Banks were the other two double-digit tacklers with 11 and 10 each.

Smith will look to rebound and end the season on a good note when they travel to Salisbury, N.C. to take on the winless Blue Bears of Livingstone College. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Stadium on campus.