Box Score Oct. 30, 2010
Final Stats
FAYETTEVILLE, NC - This was as complete a performance as the Fayetteville State Broncos have had all season.
You could say they won with spectacular days by quarterback Robert Benjamin and tailback Richard Medlin. You could say they won with defense. And you could say the special teams had another hand in another victory.
It was all of the above.
Benjamin (Jr., Phoenix, AZ) threw for three touchdowns and rushed for three others while Medlin (Sr., Raleigh, NC) set a new career-high for rushing yards in a single game with 173 as the Broncos' defense stifled a dangerous Johnson C. Smith offense in a 64-6 victory.
"I think the guys have figured out what it means to play Broncos football," said head coach Kenny Phillips. "We did a lot of things well today."
It was the first time the Broncos (4-5, 3-3) have won back-to-back games this season, and every facet of the game was working. Benjamin was particularly sharp, connecting on 15-of-21 passes for 170 yards and the three scores, two of which went to Dallin Gray (Fr., Colorado Springs, CO). He also carried the ball 11 times for 108 yards and the three scores, which included a pretty 35-yard rush around the right edge and down the sideline.
"I just tried to take what the defense gave me, and do my best within the offense," said Benjamin. "I don't want to try to make the big play every time, but try to make the correct play for us as team."
Medlin was just as brilliant, resetting the career mark he made when he ran for 163 yards in leading the Broncos defeated Bowie State on Sept. 11. Medlin opened the game with four straight carries, moving the Broncos to first-and-goal on the first series, which resulted in a 20-yard Austin Turner (Jr., San Diego, CA) field goal. He needed only 20 carries to pick up 175 yards, and finished with an additional 116 yards in returns, totaling 301 all-purpose yards. One thing, though, thing was missing.
"He just didn't get in the end zone," joked Phillips. "Robert took up the slack for him, I guess."
No kidding. Benjamin had scoring tosses of 5, 3 and 4 yards to go with scoring runs of 20, 35 and 10 yards n leading the Broncos to a season-high 534 yards of offense.
"It's the things Robert can give you on the field on Saturday," said Phillips. "It was one of those games where you can tell what kind of football player he is and what kind of athlete he is."
But don't forget about the defense. Aside from a 73-yard pass play to Jeremy Franklin late in the third quarter after the game was already in hand, the Broncos were dominant against the CIAA's fourth-ranked offense. They limited the Golden Bulls (1-8, 0-6), who came into the game averaging 338 yards, to just 16 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Johnson C. Smith finished with 271 yards, but take away the one big Smith play, and the defensive performance was even more stout.
"We're coming together as a football team," Phillips said of the unit, which also forced six turnovers and knocked the CIAA's leader in total offense, Smith quarterback Ryan Carter, out of the game in the third quarter. Carter, who came into the game averaging 255 yards a game, had just 128 yards against the Broncos.
Fayetteville State scored five times in the first half, taking a 3-0 lead on their opening series after Turner's field goal with 11:19 to go in the first period.
A week after blocking four punts against Livingstone, Fayetteville State's special teams came through again. After the defense pinned Smith inside its own 10-yard line, Alexander Monk broke free on the Broncos' patented attack team and blocked Tyler Rabb's punt through the end zone for a safety, giving Fayetteville State a 5-0 edge with 7:50 to go in the first quarter.
The Broncos added another score before the end of the period when Benjamin rolled left and lofted a high-arching pass into the back corner of the end zone to Gray (Fr., Colorado Springs, CO) for the touchdown, and it handed the Broncos a 15-0 lead with 4:50 remaining in the quarter.
The special teams made another play before the end of the half. After a Broncos' punt with just over a minute to go in the first half, Fayetteville State's Kenneth Short pressured Jeremy Franklin to fumble, and the ball was recovered by Marcus Allen at the Golden Bulls' 16-yard line. Three plays later, Benjamin rolled right and connected with Carlin Jordan for a 3-yard touchdown and a 22-0 lead with 42.4 seconds left in the half.
JCSU moved the ball into field goal range with 3.8 seconds to go, but Rabb's attempt sailed wide left as time expired.
The Broncos kept rolling after halftime, with Benjamin playing a hand in the next four FSU touchdowns. Fayetteville State scored on five straight possessions in the second half, and cruised to a 43-0 lead before Smith was able to score on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Robert Johnson to Tyler Shiver with 4:07 to go in the third quarter. That score came after Franklin's big play.
FSU wasn't done though, and tacked on three more touchdowns before the end of the game. Michael Staton added an 11-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter while Andrew Bowden recovered a fumble and went 3 yards for the score to make it 64-6.
LaMarcus Bond (So., Ahoskie, NC) led Fayetteville State with six receptions for 85 yards.
Franklin had three catches for 97 yards.
