FINAL STATS
PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of Lawrence Johnson, Steve Worthy and Sherri Fillingham)
(DURHAM, N.C.) As the case for much of the season, Fayetteville State University found a way to win late in the game, beating Bowie State University 21-10 to capture the 2009 CIAA Football Championship on Saturday before a capacity crowd of 7,532 at Durham County Memorial Stadium. Bowie State (6-5 overall) shut out Fayetteville State in the first half, but the Broncos (8-3) scored 21 unanswered points in the second half for their third conference title in seven years.
Fayetteville State’s Richard Medlin (Raleigh, NC, Garner HS) capped a 12-play, 88-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos their first lead at 14-10 with 2:29 remaining in the game. The touchdown was set up following an interception by senior Joseph Brown (New Bern, NC, Catawba).
The Broncos sealed the victory and the title when Jamaal Dixon intercepted a pass by
Tyrae Reid, Jr. (Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Polytechnic) and ran 17 yards for the game-clinching touchdown with 2:19 left. Austin Turner kicked the extra point for the Broncos for the final score.
The fourth quarter followed a familiar pattern for the Broncos, who outscored the Bulldogs 14-0 in the quarter. This season, the Broncos have outscored opponents 102-36 in the final stanza.
Benjamin Williams, the Broncos’ most valuable player for the game, completed 6 of 14 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown after entering the game in the second half. His first play from scrimmage resulted in a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jamere Pugh (Henderson, NC, Southern Vance HS) with 11:38 in the third quarter. Turner tacked on the extra point to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 10-7.
Eastern Division champion Bowie State appeared on the way to its first championship since 1989 after jumping out to a 10-0 lead. The Bulldogs received the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in six plays capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by freshman
Ramono Flowers (Largo, MD, Largo) at the 12:10 mark of the first quarter. Sophomore
Michael Gagne (Baltimore, MD, Parkville) added the extra point for a 7-0 Bulldogs lead.
Gagne kicked a 21-yard field goal with 13:29 left in the second quarter, increasing the lead to 10-0. Sophomore quarterback
Andre Johnson (Clinton, MD, Surrattsville) was responsible for a large chuck of the Bulldogs’ yards during the drive, running 54 yards to the Broncos’ 12-yard line.
Western Division champ Fayetteville State blew two scoring opportunities in the first half when Turner (San Diego, CA, Mesa CC) missed field goal attempts from 38 and 29 yards.
The Bulldogs controlled the clock in the first half, eating up 19:03 minutes compared to 10:57 for Fayetteville State. The Bulldogs rolled up 181 yards in first half rushing with junior
Rodney Webb (Baltimore, MD, Milford Mill Academy) leading the attack with 83 yards. Fayetteville State managed just 64 first-half rushing yards with Pugh accounting for 44 yards on one carry, which happened to be the Broncos longest play in the first 30 minutes.
The Broncos regrouped in the second half to finish with 220 total offensive yards for the game. The Bulldogs accumulated 272 offensive yards with Webb gaining 99 yards on 21 carries. Johnson added 54 yards on 6 rushes.
Darius Powell and Marco Esquivel of the Broncos led all tacklers with 10 tackles apiece. Sophomore
Delano Johnson (Baltimore, MD, Dunbar), named the Bulldogs’ most valuable player of the game, amassed 9 tackles and Terence Peete had 9 tackles as well.