Johnson C. Smith beat its oldest rival to make history. Fayetteville State, Wingate and Catawba kept playoff hopes alive. Elizabeth City State and Mars Hill broke scoreboards, while Barton gave fans a pleasing final home memory to the 2025 campaign.
Week 10 of the North Carolina D2 college football season is in the books (Nov. 8 games), and there is a lot to talk about with our state’s strongest gridiron division.
Today’s docket included nine games involving North Carolina Division II teams. Seven squads from our state scored victories. Let’s get to it:
🔗 Jump To: Today’s D2 Games | Live Scoreboard | Wrap-Up
🏈 More NC College Football Game-Day Threads: FBS | FCS | D2 | D3
🏆 Full Scoreboard: Complete North Carolina College Scoreboard
📅 North Carolina D2 Football | Saturday, November 8
🔥CIAA Football Games Today
Elizabeth City State 70, Bluefield State 30
Johnson C. Smith 26, Livingstone 21
Fayetteville State 31, Winston-Salem State 21
Emory & Henry 55, Shaw 7
Bowie State 28, Lincoln (PA) 17
Virginia Union 14, Virginia State 3
🚨 TITLE TALK: Johnson C. Smith set a school record for wins in a season, beat Livingstone in a rock fight and punched its ticket to next Saturday’s CIAA championship game. Defending champion Virginia Union awaits. The Golden Bulls’ last and only CIAA title came in 1969.
💪 Conference Carolinas Games Today
Ferrum 40, Chowan 37 (2 OT)
Barton 37, Erskine 7
North Greenville 35, Shorter 33
🚨 EYE TOWARD NEXT WEEK: The Conference Carolinas Bowl (i.e. league championship game) is already set. UNC Pembroke will travel to North Greenville for a rematch on Nov. 15 at 1 p.m.. The Braves had this week off to prepare, while North Greenville may have looking ahead, escaping at Shorter by 2 points on Saturday. North Greenville won the first meeting with UNCP 20-7 a few weeks ago.
⚡South Atlantic Conference Games Today
Mars Hill 59, UVA Wise 19
Emory & Henry 55, Shaw 7
Newberry 28, Carson-Newman 21
Wingate 56, Tusculum 10
Catawba 44, Anderson 20
🚨 PLAYOFF DRIVE: Wingate, last year’s SAC champion, is out of the running to repeat but continued to build a playoff resume with a blowout win. Catawba captured its seventh victory of the season and can’t be left out of post-season chatter at this point.
History made on the West End! 💛💙🐂
The Golden Bulls defeat Livingstone 26–21 in the Commemorative Classic — and are headed to the CIAA Championship for the first time since 1972! 🏆🔥#neweraofexcellence #GoldenBulls #JCSU #CIAAChampionship pic.twitter.com/K8PGixJnmE— JCSU Athletics (@JCSUSports) November 8, 2025
📊 Live Scoreboard: North Carolina D2 Football
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Bluefield St | 0 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 30 | Final | |
 | ECSU | 21 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 70 | CIAA-SN | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Ferrum | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 40 | Final 2OT |
 | Chowan | 0 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 37 | CCDN |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Livingstone | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | Final | |
 | JCSU | 7 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 26 | CIAA-SN | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Shaw | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Final | |
 | Emory & Henry | 21 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 55 | FloCollege | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | UVA Wise | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 19 | Final | |
 | Mars Hill | 17 | 26 | 10 | 7 | 60 | FloCollege | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | WSSU | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 | Final | |
 | Fayetteville St | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 | CIAA-SN | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Wingate | 14 | 7 | 28 | 7 | 56 | Final | |
 | Tusculum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | FloCollege | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Anderson | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 | Final | |
 | Catawba | 17 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 44 | FloCollege | |
| TOTAL | ||||||||
 | Erskine | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Final | |
 | Barton | 6 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 37 | CCDN |
✅ D2 Football Wrap-Up
Key storylines, top performers and playoff impacts from Nov. 8 action in North Carolina D2 football:
🏆 Biggest Win of the Day
If by “biggest” you mean the highest stakes, this spot goes to Johnson C. Smith, which won a rivalry game that dates back to the late 1800s and clinched a spot in the CIAA title game. The Golden Bulls improved to 9-1, the best record in North Carolina college football.
If by “biggest” you mean point totals, tip your cap to Elizabeth City State, which rolled up 70 points in a homecoming triumph against Bluefield State. Shamar Sutton returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, and the Vikings built a 42-0 lead by halftime. ECSU (4-6, 4-3 CIAA) won its last three games and four of the last six under first-year coach Adrian Jones.
💪 Standout Performances
Traquan Johnson (Elizabeth City State): The junior rushed for 173 yards on 20 carries and scored a whopping five touchdowns. Johnson averaged 8.7 yards per tote. From our notes, Johnson is the first back to record five rushing touchdowns in our state this season.
Mars Hill amassed 683 (!) yards of total offense in its rout of UVA Wise – 370 passing and 313 rushing. Dual-threat quarterback JR Martin had a stat-stuffing day, throwing for 334 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 122 more yards. Jon Gullette joined Martin in the 100-yard rushing club, finishing with 132 on the ground with a pair of scores. Charlie Guinade led the Lions’ receiving corps with TD receptions of 92 and 28 yards.
Bobby Smith, one of the heroes of last week’s win over Fayetteville State, had another big day for Johnson C. Smith’s ground game. Smith rushed for 164 yards and scored on an eight-yard run.
Livingstone’s Davyn Reid kept the Blue Bears in contention against JCSU, catching touchdown passes of 80 and 65 yards from quarterback Elijah Alexander. Reid finished with 156 receiving yards.
Wingate’s Elihu Lipscomb recorded TWO scoop-and-score touchdowns in the third quarter against Tusculum, rumbling 51 yards with the first and 52 with the second. Lipscomb finished with four tackles as well.
Barton’s Jackson Parrish hit the 200-yard mark in rushing for the third time this season, galloping for 204 yards and finding the end zone twice against Erskine.
BULLDOGS WITH A DUB!!
Jackson Parrish (204 Yds Rushing, 2TD)
Isaiah Jacobs (192 Yds Receiving, 3TD)
Bailey Carraway (6 Tackles, 3 TFL) pic.twitter.com/O1YY8czi8j — BartonCollegeFB (@barton_fb) November 9, 2025
🔥 Other Highlights & Takeaways
Lon Teachey booted a 52-yard field goal as part of Mars Hill’s lopsided win. Teachey also hit field goals of 32 and 19 yards, while making all seven PAT attempts (16 kicker points).
Johnson C. Smith somewhat neutralized the nation’s leader in tackles-for-loss, Kenyon Garner. The Livingstone defensive end did have one TFL but that was it – and no sacks. Garner finished with four tackles total. JCSU meanwhile recorded 10.0 TFLs as a team, with Vincent Hill recording 3.0. Quentin Williams had two sacks.
Fayetteville State scored 17 unanswered points after falling behind Winston-Salem State 21-14 midway through the second quarter. The victory keeps playoff hops alive for the Broncos, who finished 6-4, 6-1 CIAA after an 0-3 start. FSU’s only conference loss came to Johnson C. Smith. The Fayetteville State defense picked off WSSU quarterback Daylin Lee three times.
Elijah Holmes threw for 262 yards and three TDs for Wingate in the win over Tusculum. Jaylen Himes earned 126 yards in receptions with a score. Xavier Pugh rushed for two touchdowns. Caleb Bonesteel missed a field goal but made all eight PATs.
Catawba (7-3) has more than doubled its win total from a year ago, when it finished 3-8. The Indians are the only conference team to beat Newberry, topping the Wolves 21-10 in mid-September. Preston Brown threw three touchdown passes in the latest win on Saturday over Anderson. Kevin Lalin (126 yards) and Marquece Williams (82 yards, 1 rush TD, 79 receiving yards, 2 TDs) had big days as well.
Al Lee had one of his best single-game performances of the season, leading Barton to victory with a 263-yard, 3-TD showing. All three touchdown throws went to Isaiah Jacobs, who finished with 192 receiving yards on 10 catches.
With Winston-Salem State’s season complete, we could have our first head coaching change in the coming days. Speculation is strong that the Rams will move on from Robert Massey, whose latest team finished 4-6 overall, 2-5 in the CIAA. Massey’s six-year record at Winston-Salem State is 25-33, 20-23 in CIAA play. Expectations were high coming into 2025 after last season’s 7-3 showing, which included five conference wins and a triumph over Fayetteville State.
Robert Massey's Career at WSSU
2019: WSSU 4-6 (3-4 CIAA)
2020: No season COVID 19
2021: WSSU 3-6 (3-4 CIAA)
2022: WSSU 3-6 (3-4 CIAA)
2023: WSSU 4-6 (4-4 CIAA)
2024: WSSU 7-3 (5-2 CIAA)
2025: WSSU 4-6 (2-5 CIAA)
Totals: 25-33 (20-23 CIAA) — John Dell (@johndellWSJ) November 8, 2025
Shaw’s 2025 season ends at 2-8. The Bears and new coach Lamar Manigo, had one of the toughest schedules in our state, facing the top three teams in the CIAA (VUU, JCSU and Fayetteville State) as well as Albany State from the SIAC (8-1 coming into today) and Emory & Henry from the SAC (7-3).
Chowan lost a heartbreaker to Ferrum in double overtime. The teams traded field goals in the first extra period. Jack Beylo connected again for the Hawks in the second OT, but Ferrum’s Tyrik Bryant ended the game with his 12-yard touchdown run. Beylo made all three of his attempts for the day and booted four extra points. Malique Frazier had two touchdown catches.
It’s hard to believe, but today marks the end of the line for Shaw, Elizabeth City State, Livingstone and Winston-Salem State. Barton and/or Chowan might get an extra game next Saturday as part of a special scheduling agreement between Conference Carolinas and the SIAC. The South Atlantic will play another round of games, so we’ll see Wingate, Catawba, Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne one more time. UNC Pembroke will play in the Conference Carolinas title game.
