CLEVELAND, Miss. -- Fayetteville State fell 51-0 to Delta State on the road Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Division II Super Region Two.
The Statesmen improved to 11-1 on the season while the Broncos dropped to 9-3. No. 2 Delta State will advance to host no. 3 West Florida on Saturday, November 26.
"We took a tough loss today, but it doesn't diminish what this team has accomplished this year," said Head Coach Richard Hayes. "I am really proud of them. We ran into a buzz saw today and [suffered] a lot of injuries. The guys fought hard and I am really proud of that."
Mekhi Fenner led all FSU rushers with 43 yards in the contest, picking up 4.3 yards per carry. Caden Davis also added 32 yards on the ground, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
The most prolific target for the Fayetteville State quarterbacks was Cameron Harrington, who caught five passes for 49 yards. His longest haul was for 22 yards.
Cameron Merrell showed out for the Fayetteville State defense, recording 11 tackles, one tackles for a loss of three yards and a sack for the same. Kentrell Caldwell finished with eight tackles and one interception with a return of 13 yards. Kahlid Martin and Gerald Simpson also had five tackles in the loss.
Fayetteville State converted on 47.4 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Defensively, Fayetteville State held up fairly well against the Delta State passing attack, holding the DSU to 175 yards through the air.
How It Happened
» Fayetteville State fumbled three times in the first quarter that led to 28 points for Delta State.
» Threatening to score, Fayetteville State threw two interceptions in the endzone.
» Delta State outgained Fayetteville State 407-250 in the contest.
» Fayetteville State converted 9 of 19 third downs while Delta State was successful on 6 of 15.
» FSU had four players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame.
» Fayetteville State won the time of possession battle 32:54 to 27:06.
» K'hari Lane completed 66.7% of his passes on the day, going 12-for-18.
» Patrick Shegog led the DSU passing attack, completing 14 of his 22 attempts for 137 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
» Kelvin Smith led the Delta State rushing attack with 58 yards and one touchdown.
