Courtesy of Fayetteville State Athletics
FAYETTEVILLE, NC — Led by an impressive defensive effort that held the Shaw offense to 189 total yards, Fayetteville State took down the Bears 28-20 at home Saturday afternoon to win the CIAA South Division and punch their ticket to the conference championship game.
“I thought we came out in the first quarter and jumped on them,” said head Coach Richard Hayes. “We held them to no first downs in the first half and I thought the defense played really well. Offense put 14 points on the board early and we knew in the second half they weren’t going to lay down and we had to finish the mission.”
The Broncos improved to 7-2 on the year and 6-1 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, while the Bears fell to 3-6 and 3-4.
Derrick Alston Jr. totaled 71 yards to lead the Broncos ground attack and added one touchdown in the game, picking up 4.7 yards per carry along the way. Alston also tacked on 31 receiving yards. Ellijah Henry rushed for 33 yards on the ground, as well as 52 receiving yards on a catch-and-run touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter.
Fayetteville State got solid production from Toshiro Spivey, who hauled in two catches for 31 yards.
John Oxce showed out for the Fayetteville State defense, recording four tackles and one recovered fumble. Devin Cowan added five tackles, 1.5 TFL, and one sack.
The Fayetteville State offense did a good job prolonging drives, converting on 52.9 percent of third-down attempts.
Fayetteville State’s defense limited Shaw’s offense, giving up 189 total yards. The Broncos kept Shaw under 150 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing 49 passing and 140 rushing yards. “The physicality started to pick up in the third and fourth quarter when Shaw was putting together drives, but I’m proud of my guys who kept fighting,” said cornerback Kenneth Merritt.
Fayetteville State’s offense made the most of its visits to the red zone, scoring on three of its three trips, with all of those scores being touchdowns. “Overall everyone from the offensive line to the receivers did their job tonight and they all deserve praise,” said freshman quarterback Caden Davis.
How It Happened
Fayetteville State scored first with 10:14 left in the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead.The BRONCOS then followed with another score to extend the lead to 14-0.
Fayetteville State continued to increase its advantage after Shaw made it a 14-7 game, scoring again with 9:48 remaining in the third quarter to go on top 21-7.The BRONCOS continued to expand their lead after Shaw narrowed the gap to 21-14, scoring again to go on top 28-14. Fayetteville State didn’t score again in the game and Shaw tacked on six more points to finish off the scoring.Game Notes
» Fayetteville State outgained Shaw 319-189, including a 137-49 advantage through the air.
» The Broncos scored first with 10:14 left in the second 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 14 points.
» Fayetteville State converted 9 of 17 third downs while Shaw was successful on 3 of 13.
» The Broncos had two players with more than eight tackles in the ballgame led by Dylan Morris, who had 10.
» Fayetteville State won the time of possession battle 35:19 to 24:36.
» Fayetteville State got off to a hot start in the contest, putting 14 unanswered points on the board before Shaw could respond.
» Patrick Blake led the Bears passing attack, completing seven of his 20 attempts for 49 yards.
» Sidney Gibbs led the Shaw rushing attack with 77 yards and two touchdowns.
Scoring Summary
| 2nd Quarter | BEARS | BRONCOS |
|---|---|---|
 10:14 – BRONCOS – Elliott,Barry 6 yd pass from Baros,David (Andrew,Elton kick) 16 plays, 83 yards, TOP 7:37 | 0 | 7 |
| 06:07 – BRONCOS – Alston,Derrick 8 yd run (Andrew,Elton kick), 4 plays, 35 yards, TOP 1:44 | 0 | 14 |
 00:25 – BEARS – Gibbs, Sidney 1 yd run (Versteegen, Dev kick), 2 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:32 | 7 | 14 |
| 3rd Quarter | BEARS | BRONCOS |
| 09:48 – BRONCOS – Daniels,Demari 13 yd run (Andrew,Elton kick), 10 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:16 | 7 | 21 |
| 00:55 – BEARS – Gibbs, Sidney 37 yd run (Versteegen, Dev kick), 6 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:22 | 14 | 21 |
| 4th Quarter | BEARS | BRONCOS |
| 14:49 – BRONCOS – Henry,Ellijah 56 yd pass from Daniels,Demari (Andrew,Elton kick) 3 plays, 63 yards, TOP 0:59 | 14 | 28 |
| 04:40 – BEARS – Brandon, Jr., A 3 yd run (Versteegen, Dev kick failed), 18 plays, 77 yards, TOP 6:31 | 20 | 28 |
