FAYETTEVILLE, NC --Five different players reached the end zone, led by three scores from Barry Elliott, as Fayetteville State rolled past Saint Augustine's 54-0 on Saturday afternoon inside Luther "Nick" Jeralds Stadium on homecoming weekend.
FSU improved to 4-2 on the year and 3-1 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, while the SAU fell to 0-6 and 0-4. "I was a little upset at halftime because I felt like we were playing down to the level of our competition when we could have stepped it up another notch, said Head Coach Richard Hayes. "So we came out in the third quarter and played with a little more intensity and I'm really pleased with the win and the effort of the guys in the second half."
True Freshman Demari Daniels led Fayetteville State's passing attack in his first career start with 194 yards through the air, tossing three touchdowns without throwing an interception. The signal caller also added 42 yards and one touchdown on the ground. "It feels good, we did a great job executing, Daniels said. "The line did great blocking and the receivers did good on the perimeter blocking as well."
Derrick Alston Jr. paced the FSU rushing attack by accumulating 99 yards and one touchdown over the course of the game, averaging 12.4 yards per carry. Ellijah Henry also added 70 yards and one touchdown on the ground, averaging 17.5 yards per carry. Caden Davis chipped in with 59 yards as well, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. "We are really proud of Eli, he's a game changer and I thought him, Mehkai Fenner and D.J. Alston did a great job running the ball. 301 yards rushing, that's a season-high for us and that's Broncos football," Hayes said.
Elliott reeled in three catches for 141 yards and three scores. Cameron Harrington got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in two balls for 71 yards and one touchdown.
Camero Merrell led the Fayetteville State defensive effort, collecting six tackles, 1.5 TFL, one sack, and one recovered fumble. Cedric Thomas added his first career interception and Devin Cowan had four tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one sack in the win. "Every special teams play I go out and do my job and coach always tells me to be ready to go out on defense, so I stayed ready and made my play," Thomas said on his interception.
FSU won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing two turnovers while avoiding any giveaways, with Fayetteville State turning those takeaways into six points. Fayetteville State also had an outstanding day offensively, racking up 543 total yards, 314 on the ground, and 229 through the air, while averaging 9.5 yards per play and out-gaining Saint Augustine's. Fayetteville State converted on 45.5 percent of third-down attempts on the day. The FSU also went 2-for-2 on fourth down.
Fayetteville State's defense limited Saint Augustine's offense, allowing just 146 total yards. The FSU kept Saint Augustine's under 100 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing only 81 passing and 65 rushing yards. The FSU defense disrupted Saint Augustine's backfield all game, piling up four sacks and eight total tackles for loss.
How It Happened
Fayetteville State put up 54 points on nine different scoring plays. FSU got on the board first, taking the lead for good at 7-0 with 11:57 remaining in the first quarter on a 20-yard scoring drive. FSU then rode that lead to victory, increasing their advantage by 47 points along the way.
Game Notes
» Fayetteville State outgained Saint Augustine's 543-146, including a 314-65 advantage on the ground.
» Fayetteville State won the turnover battle 2-0 after intercepting one pass and recovering one fumble.
» The FSU scored first with 11:57 remaining in the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the game on their way to victory.
» Fayetteville State had their highest scoring quarter in the second period when they put up 23 points.
» Fayetteville State converted 5 of 11 third downs while Saint Augustine's was successful on 1 of 12.
» Fayetteville State scored three touchdowns on plays of 50 yards or more, the longest of which was an 83-yard strike.
» Fayetteville State scored three second-quarter touchdowns.
» Fayetteville State went 2-for-2 on fourth down, converting on 100 percent of attempts.
» Fayetteville State scored on an 83-yard strike.
» Fayetteville State allowed zero points in one Saint Augustine's trip to the red zone.
» The FSU collected eight tackles for loss and added four sacks.
» Don Brewington led the SAU passing attack, completing eight of his 15 attempts for 62 yards.
» Avonte George led Saint Augustine's rushing attack with 32 yards.
Gallery: (10-8-2022) Football Homecoming vs. St. Augustine's
