Nov. 3, 2007

Final Stats

Johnson C. Smith University (3-7, 2-5 CIAA) entered today's contest against Livingstone College (0-10, 0-7 CIAA) with winning on their mind. The Bulls did so convincingly defeating the Blue Bears by a score of 47-7. Head coach Daryl C. McNeill, who earned his 30th career win as a head coach and his 20th victory at JCSU, used every player dressed in uniform to end the season with a bang. Junior quarterback Carlton Richardson completed his junior campaign with 2,004 total offensive yards (1,668 passing and 336 rushing).

"It was one of my goals going into the summer," remarked Richardson of the 2,004 yards. "I wish the season would have been a little better though. I wish we could have done that (had fun) every game this season. It was fun watching the back-ups getting some action. Everyone had fun today."

Johnson C. Smith looked like a team that was playing with excitement, scoring on five of their first six drives (5 consecutive). Making minimal mistakes, the Bulls marched their way to 44 points by the end of the first half. The always classy McNeill used reserves the entire second stanza to score just three points and keep the score under 50.

Joshua Smith opened the game with a blocked punt in the end zone resulting in a safety with 11:45 remaining in the first quarter. On the very next drive, with the ball on the LC 42-yard line, JCSU faked the punt and Ernest Hodge ran the ball 38 yards to the four-yard line. On the next play, Kevin Allen toted the ball four yards into the end zone for the first touchdown of the day. Jonathan Metcalf also wanted a piece of the action scoring twice on nine and four yard runs.

Livingstone scored their only touchdown of the day on a one-yard run by Curtis Edens mid-way through the second quarter.

"Our main goal today was answered in sending our seniors out as winners and also building momentum toward next season," said McNeill. "Of course we understand Livingstone and what they are going through having had a 0-10 season ourselves a couple years ago. They were a team that never quit. I am extremely happy for our seniors."

Jeremy Franklin, the leading candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year, had just two catches on the day. Fortunately, both his catches were touchdowns giving him six on the year. He finished the day with 79 yards. Herbert Collins,III kicked one field goal (20 yards) midway through the fourth quarter, swelling the lead to 47-7.

Defensively, Fred Williams, the conference's leading defender in total tackles and a candidate for defensive player of the year, led all JCSU defenders with five total tackles, one for a loss of 10 yards, one sack for a loss of 10 yards and one pass break-up. He finishes the season with 94 tackles. Garrison McCormick also ended with five total tackles.

Fifteen seniors played their last game in a Golden Bull uniform. It is back to the drawing board for McNeill and his staff as they have to find replacements for those seniors. The coaching staff will look to fill voids in every position on the field.