FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina -- Fayetteville State needed extra time Saturday afternoon at home inside Luther "Nick" Jeralds, but prevailed and beat Winston-Salem 40-34 in overtime.
The Broncos improved to 8-2 on the year and 8-0 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, while the Rams fell to 4-6 and 4-4.
Joe Owens Jr. led Fayetteville State's passing attack with 190 yards through the air, tossing two touchdowns and one interception. The signal caller also added 43 yards on the ground.
Julian Milligan totaled 86 yards to lead the Broncos' ground attack and added two touchdowns in the game, picking up 6.6 yards per carry along the way. Milligan also tacked on 35 receiving yards.
Treveran Goode reeled in four catches for 72 yards.
Shawn Robinson led the Fayetteville State defensive effort, totaling four tackles, 2.5 TFL, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one recovered fumble. Brian Grier added three tackles and one recovered fumble and Shi Gaskin had eight tackles, 2.0 TFL, one sack, and two forced fumbles in the win.
Fayetteville State put together a strong performance on the ground, racking up 201 rushing yards while averaging 4.7 yards per carry and out-rushing Winston-Salem by 46 yards. The Fayetteville State offense did a good job keeping drives alive, converting on 53.3 percent of third-down attempts.
Defensively, Fayetteville State held up fairly well against the Winston-Salem offensive attack, holding the Rams to 335 total yards.
How It Happened
Fayetteville State responded to an early 17-0 Winston-Salem lead with a first quarter touchdown to narrow the deficit to 17-7.The Broncos responded with a touchdown after Winston-Salem increased its lead to 24-7 to make it a 24-14 game.
Fayetteville State scored again with 2:46 remaining in the second quarter to narrow Winston-Salem's lead to 24-17.The Broncos then scored again, narrowing the gap to 24-20.
Fayetteville State scored again, a two-yard touchdown run from with 10:07 left in the third quarter, and took a 27-24 lead in the process.The Rams rallied to tie the game at 27 before the Broncos reclaimed the lead, pushing their advantage to 34-27 on a 22-yard touchdown run from Milligan.
The Rams came back to tie the game at 34, but Fayetteville State responded, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run from Milligan in the first overtime to grab a 40-34 lead. Neither team scored again in the game.
Game Notes
» Fayetteville State outgained Winston-Salem 391-335, including a 201-155 advantage on the ground.
» Fayetteville State had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up 13 points.
» Fayetteville State converted 8 of 15 third downs while Winston-Salem was successful on 2 of 10.
» Gaskin led the Broncos with eight tackles.
» Fayetteville State forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
» The Broncos didn't allow a sack in the contest.
» The Broncos racked up eight tackles for loss and added three sacks.
» Fayetteville State won the time of possession battle 32:47 to 27:13.
» Owens completed 66.7% of his passes on the day, going 18-for-27 while averaging seven yards per attempt.
» Daylin Lee led the Rams passing attack, completing 17 of his 26 attempts for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
» Kaleb Washington was Winston-Salem's leading receiver with 55 yards and one touchdown.
The Broncos will head to Salem, VA where they will face off against the Virginia Union Panthers for the CIAA Championship. Kickoff is at 3:00 pm on Saturday, November 11th, 2023.
