Johnson C. Smith painted Durham gold and blue on Saturday afternoon, claiming the school’s first CIAA football championship since 1969. UNC Pembroke, meanwhile, lost a hard-fought Conference Carolinas Bowl match-up at North Greenville.
Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne won their regular season finales, and Chowan earned a measure of revenge in a rematch with Barton.
Here are final scores from today’s five-game North Carolina D2 football schedule:
- Johnson C. Smith 45, Virginia Union 21
- North Greenville 34, UNC Pembroke 20
- Wingate 37, Mars Hill 22
- Lenoir-Rhyne 48, Catawba 46
- Chowan 20, Barton 6
🏆 Full Statewide Scoreboard: Check all scores involving North Carolina college teams
Johnson C. Smith football strikes this championship pose for the first time since 1969. https://t.co/p6tfmiSJKW — NC Football News (@NCFootballNews) November 16, 2025
Johnson C. Smith completes magical 55-year journey
For the past couple of years, HBCU Gameday has produced a documentary on Johnson C. Smith’s football rebirth, called Brick x Brick. On Saturday, the Golden Bulls inserted the final brick into its more than half-century long quest to return to the top of the CIAA.
The Golden Bulls beat two-time defending champion Virginia Union to win the school’s first conference championship in football since 1969. JCSU scored two quick touchdowns and stayed in control most of the rest of the way.
Deandre Proctor earned CIAA championship game MVP status, catching a 58-yard TD pass from Kelvin Durham that broke the game open in the third period. Proctor finished with 146 yards in receptions and two TDs.
Durham threw five TD passes in the game and finished with 285 passing yards. He also rushed for a score. Running back Bobby Smith added 78 yards on the ground.
CIAA offensive player of the year Curtis Allen rushed for 183 yards and two TDs for Virginia Union. But the Golden Bulls picked off two passes and recovered a fumble to neutralize VUU’s potent attack. Jalen Alexander had two tackles for loss for JCSU. Latrae Bass and Tynan Tucker earned the interceptions.
“Johnson C. Smith played with heart, purpose, and an understanding of the history they were stepping into,” CIAA commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker said after the game. “Today they did not just win a title, they restored a legacy that means so much to their campus, their alumni and to the CIAA. We celebrate them, and we celebrate the competitive spirit both programs brought to this championship stage.”
A 2–7 program turned CIAA CHAMPION.@JCSUFootball just delivered one of the biggest HBCU program turnarounds in recent memory. #CIAA #HBCUhttps://t.co/JG75dOx72O — HBCU Gameday (@HBCUGameday) November 16, 2025
UNC Pembroke awaits playoff fate after title-game loss
Dylan Ramirez threw for 261 yards and scored touchdowns rushing and passing to lead North Greenville to a 34-20 win over UNCP in the Conference Carolinas Bowl in Tigerville, SC. Ramirez earned game MVP honors as the Trailblazers earned the conference’s automatic berth into the D2 playoffs.
North Greenville was the only team to beat UNCP in Conference Carolinas action this season, also winning the regular season meeting. The Braves (8-3) will wait until Sunday’s D2 playoff field is announced to see if their season will continue.
Tre Robinson threw for 261 yards and two TDs for UNC Pembroke. He also rushed for a score. Que Kennedy caught 10 passes for 134 yards, while teammate Malik Brown caught a 48-yard TD pass that tied the game 20-20 in the third quarter. Jackson Karcher had the other TD reception.
North Greenville answered Brown’s touchdown with a quick score of its own. The Trailblazers added a cushion touchdown with 5:23 to play, then intercepted a UNCP pass to seal it.
This was the first year Conference Carolinas crowned a champion in football since the 1970s.
FINAL: Braves 20, NGU 34. #BraveNation pic.twitter.com/2HaAA1smuN — UNCP Braves Football (@UNCP_Football) November 15, 2025
✅ North Carolina D2 Football Notebook | Nov. 15 Games
Key storylines, top performers and playoff impacts from Nov. 15 action in North Carolina D2 football. Updating throughout the day and weekend:
- Wingate picked up its sixth win in a row and its ninth win of the season, topping in-state rival Mars Hill 37-22 on homecoming. The Bulldogs have now won eight or more games in each of the past nine seasons.
- Wingate’s Xavier Pugh joined the 1,000-yard rushing club, while teammate Jaylen Hines became a 1,000-yard receiver. Pugh rushed for 62 yards on the day with three touchdowns. Himes hauled in three catches for 103 yards. Quarterback Elijah Holmes finished 14-of-29 passing for 340 yards.
- Mars Hill’s season ends at 5-6 overall, 4-5 in the South Atlantic Conference. Charlie Guinade caught nine passes for 146 yards to lead the Lions’ offense.
- Lenoir-Rhyne may have fallen short of some goals this season but the Bears closed the 2025 campaign with a winning record (6-5) thanks to Saturday’s wild 48-46 triumph over Catawba. Lenoir-Rhyne held on despite being outscored 27-6 in the fourth quarter. The Bears led by as many as 30 points (42-12). Lenoir-Rhyne has been better than .500 in football the past eight seasons.
- Tye Roberson returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown for Lenoir-Rhyne. Khamoni Robinson threw three touchdown passes and rushed for two more scores, including the game-winner.
- Catawba produced 626 yards of total offense in the loss. Quarterback Preston Brown set career highs with 485 passing yards and five touchdowns. His 87-yard TD pass to Amari McArthur with 1:14 to play gave Catawba an improbable 46-42 lead. Lenoir’Rhyne’s Robinson found the end zone on a 13-yard run with six seconds to play to lift the Bears.
- Despite falling short, Catawba still more than doubled its win total from 2024, finishing with a 7-4 record, 5-4 in conference play.
- Chowan lost to Barton 28-21 back in October after giving up a late touchdown. The two Conference Carolinas teams scheduled each other again to finish off the season, and the Hawks earned payback on the same field. Romeo Felton rushed for two touchdowns, while Jack Beylo kicked field goals of 32 and 23 yards.
- Chowan ends its season 4-7 overall, while Barton was 3-8.
- The NCAA Division II playoff field will be announced on Sunday. Conference champions will get automatic berths into the 32-team bracket. Johnson C. Smith, UNCP, Wingate and Fayetteville State all were listed in the final Super Region rankings. Only Johnson C. Smith is guaranteed a berth by virtue of winning the CIAA. Fayetteville State may have been helped by other results from its region.
📊 Live Scoreboard: North Carolina D2 Football
Hit refresh to see the latest scoreboard updates
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | UNCP | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 20 | Final | |
 | N Greenville | 3 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 34 | CCDN | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Catawba | 3 | 3 | 13 | 27 | 46 | Final | |
 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 7 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 48 | FloCollege | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Mars Hill | 6 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 22 | Final | |
 | Wingate | 14 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 37 | FloCollege | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | JCSU | 14 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 45 | Final | |
 | Virginia Union | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 | CIAA-SN | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Chowan | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 20 | Final | |
 | Barton | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | CCDN |
