Sept. 22, 2007
Final Stats
Fayetteville, NC - CIAA football fans watched Fayetteville State University and Bowie State University both enter Luther "Nick" Jeralds' Stadium Saturday, September 22nd, certain that one team would end their winless 2007 season; the Bulldogs accomplished that goal with a 10-7 victory over the Broncos.
The first quarter contained the most action and scoring of the contest. BSU relied on their running game to take them down the field and eventually into the end zone. Junior tailback Issac Redman rushed for the Bulldogs' only touchdown, completing a 10 play drive. The Broncos' special teams put their only points on the board; when junior linebacker Geron Harper (Mayesville, NC) blocked and recovered a punt in the end zone for a touchdown.
With the score tied 7-7, the Broncos' moved inside their opponents' red zone (inside the 20) with a little under two minutes remaining in the first half. Junior quarterback Bryan Hardy (Vanceboro, NC) attempted a pass to the corner of the end zone that was intercepted by BSU's Terence Peete, Jr. That turnover would send both teams into the locker room tied at halftime.
The Bulldogs took a 10-7 lead in the third quarter when senior place kicker Ronald Walls nailed a 25-yard field goal. Fayetteville State switched to freshman quarterback Ben Williams (Charlotte, NC) to start the second half. Williams and the Broncos' offense drove deep into BSU territory (six yard line), before the Bulldogs' Delano Johnson picked off yet another pass in the end zone, killing the Broncos drive.
Despite the loss, Fayetteville State received solid defensive efforts. Harper finished the contest with eight tackles and a forced fumble along with his blocked punt for a score. Freshman defensive lineman Eric Conway (Clinton, NC) had a game-high 11 tackles, including a sack. Joel Kuvuna (Raleigh, NC) also had a double-digit total in tackles, the freshman linebacker got to the ball carrier 10 times.
The Broncos only put up 133 yards of total offense, (111 passing and 22 rushing). In the turnover department, BSU lost two fumbles which were offset by three FSU interceptions. Bowie State freshman Rodney Webb rushed for a game high 106 yards on 19 carries.
The Broncos fall to 0-4 for the season, and suffer their first conference loss. Bowie State improves to 1-3 overall, with a 1-0 record in the CIAA. Fayetteville State returns to action Saturday, September 29th to face the Blue Bears of Livingstone College. The conference match-up will be the Blue Bears' homecoming game and will take place in Salisbury, NC at 2 pm.
