The Fayetteville State Broncos compete for the CIAA championship in Salem, Virginia against the Chowan University Hawks. The Broncos ended their regular season on a six-game winning streak with a 14-6 victory in week 10 over Winston-Salem State. This is the second meeting between FSU and Chowan this season. The Broncos previously topped the Hawks 13-10 during week 5 of the season. Saturday's championship game marks the first time in school history that FSU has squared off against Chowan to decide the conference championship. FSU hold a 7-4 advantage in the all-time head-to-head matchup dating back to 2008. 

The Game: Fayetteville State University "Broncos" vs. Chowan University "Hawks"

The Records: Fayetteville State (8-2 overall, 7-1 CIAA, 5-0 Southern Division);  Chowan University (7-3 overall, 7-1 CIAA, 5-0 Northern Division)

The Kickoff: Saturday, November 12th, 2022 - Kickoff at 1:00 pm

The Site: Salem Stadium (7,157 capacity / turf grass field) - Salem, VA

Media Coverage: TV/Video: Aspire TV Network (Scott Pryzwansky; play-by-play; Stan Lewter, color analyst; Andrew Chapman, sideline reporter)

SCOUTING THE HAWKS: Chowan plays for a championship coming off a 7-3 overall record and are coming off a win last Saturday against Elizabeth City State (54-8) to finish 7-1 in conference play. The Hawks rank third in the conference in rushing and are led by running back transfer from Wingate, Nijere Peoples, averaging 63.1 rushing yards per game with four touchdowns. Under center, starting QB Rachad McKee is completing 56.9% of passes with 865 total yards passing and eight touchdowns. On the defensive side, Chowan has pressured oppos- ing quarterbacks at the best rate in the conference with 39 total sacks, 6.0 coming from grad student linebacker Montre Moore. Redshirt junior defensive end Raydarius Freeman leads the team with 17.5 tackles for loss.

ALL-CIAA PRESEASON PLAYERS: The Broncos had four players this year named to the All-CIAA Preseason team. Second-year transfer quarterback K'Hari Lane earned the honor along with kicker Elton Andrew on the special teams unit. A pair of defensive players in junior defensive end Devin Cowan and graduate student corner- back Brandon Barnes-Brown were also named All-CIAA Preseason players. Barnes-Brown was also named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl on February 4th, 2023

FIVE-TIME SOUTH DIVISION CHAMPS: Fayetteville State is heading to a fifth straight championship under Head Coach Richard Hayes, having played for the CIAA title every season since 2017. Hayes took over the helm of the Broncos program in 2016, and became the first coach in school history to bring FSU to the title game in just their second season. Despite the recent success, FSU has lost all four of it's previous championship games to Bowie State (2018, 2019, 2021) and Virginia State (2017) and are still hunting for their first trophy since 2009. FSU football has three championships so far in school history (2002, 2003, 2009).

UNDER CENTER: The Broncos have deployed a quarterback-by-committee strategy since the October 8th game vs. St. Augustine's. Preseason All-CIAA selection K'Hari Lane, who served as the primary starting QB in 2021, is now third on the depth chart with freshmen Demari Daniels and Caden Davis splitting the majority of snaps. Daniels has been the most efficient of the trio, completing 62.7% (21-45) of his passes and throwing for 6 touch- downs over five games, including a 3 TD performance vs. St. Augustine's. The Broncos offense hasn't tasked the freshman QB's to air the ball out, instead leaning heavily on the run, totaling 55 rushes two weeks ago vs. Shaw and 43 running plays in week 10 at Winston-Salem State.

BARRY ELITE: Wide receiver Barry Elliot is setting FSU records in his first year with the program as a grad transfer from Charleston West Virginia. He has scored at least one touchdown in five of FSU's last seven games and recorded his eighth receiving touchdown in week 9 vs. Shaw. His 8 receiving touchdowns are the most since Chris Hubert (13) and Tavon Gatlin (11) in the 2015 season, while his 9 total TD's are the most by a Bronco since Stevie Green's 14 rushing scores in 2019. Elliott is a Fayetteville native that attended Jack Britt HS locally.

DEFENSIVE STARS: Defensive ends Devin Cowan and Cameron Merrell have led an FSU defense that has tallied the second most sacks (34) and allowed the fewest PPG (12.8) in the CIAA. Cowan's 14.0 TFL leads the team, while Merrell leads the team lead with 8.5 sacks this season. FSU's 34 total sacks have already surpassed the 2021 season total of 30 and are the most by any FSU defensive unit since the 2009 season (46) squad that won the CIAA championship.

GROUND & POUND: Running backs Elijah Henry and Derrick Alston Jr. have been a focal point of the FSU offense in recent weeks and have stepped up big since starter Syheam McQueen suffered a right-leg injury on 9/29. Henry, a grad student in his final season, has scored a touchdown in three of the last five games and has been heavily utilized in the passing game as a check down option, totaling 147 yards receiving in the last three weeks. Henry didn't see many snaps in week 10 at WSSU after suffering a left leg injury on the opening kickoff. Alston, a sophomore, has scored a rushing touchdown in three of the last four games and compiled 323 of his 366 rushing yards this season during that four-game stretch. Mekhi Fenner has also been utilized in the run game with 40 carries for 189 yards.