Wingate senior defensive end Marquise Fleming won about every possible award in Division II football for his position – all-conference, all-region, all-American, Gene Upshaw D-lineman of the year, national defensive player of the year (x2).
It’s no surprise that Fleming also is a North Carolina D2 football ‘Stat Champion’ for 2024.
Fleming led the way in our state in two statistical categories – tackles-for-loss (19.5) and sacks (8.0). His 19.5 hits behind the line of scrimmage resulted in 79 negative yards for opposing teams and ranked fourth nationally in D2. His sacks sent QBs backwards 55 yards.
While Fleming earned national attention in leading the Bulldogs to a conference championship, he wasn’t alone in wreaking havoc on the defensive end in our state.
Johnson C. Smith linebacker Benari Black earned CIAA defensive player of the year honors after a monster season for the Charlotte HBCU program. Black was the runaway Stat Champion for most tackles, securing 114 (averaging 11.4 per game). He had 48 solo hits and assisted on 66 other stops.
Black had two games with 16 tackles in each, flying all over the field against Virginia State and Fayetteville State, in a pair of Golden Bull victories.
Tristian Rankin from Mars Hill and Nic Cheeley from Lenoir-Rhyne shared Stat Champion honors in interceptions. Both players had five picks this season. Rankin did his damage across nine games – including a 58-yard pick-six against Emory & Henry in week 10 – while Cheeley had five picks across a 13-game slate that included two playoff contests.
Black and Livingstone’s Davion Watkins placed second behind Fleming in tackles-for-loss with 15.0 apiece. Wingate’s Kai Russell had 14 TFLs and finished with 7.5 sacks, just a half-sack behind teammate Fleming in that category.
Four D2 players recorded four interceptions: Wingate’s Joseph Reddish, Livingstone’s Kevin Larkins, Barton’s Mike Webb and Lenoir-Rhyne’s Chris Brown.
Single-game defensive standouts
Barton’s Dereck Barringer made the podium in several Stat Champions categories. Barringer finished second in tackles (93) and tied with Black for second in most tackles in a single game (16). Barringer also had a 15-tackle game, third-best in the D2 football.
Fayetteville State’s Jamari Slade had the state’s best single-game tackling performance. He made 17 stops in a week nine game against Shaw.
Three players shared the honor of most solo tackles in a single game – Barringer, Winston-Salem State’s Justin Fleming and Chowan’s Isaiah Pelham each recorded 11.
UNC Pembroke’s Malik McKinzie amassed five tackles-for-loss in a 63-7 Braves’ win at Concord in week 12. That’s the best single-game TFL performance in the state. He also had three sacks and forced a fumble in that contest, finishing with seven solo stops.
Here are lists of season and single-game defensive stat champions from North Carolina D2 football:
2024 D2 Stat Champions | Defense
Total Tackles | Season Leaders
| TACKLES | PLAYER (SCHOOL) | GAMES | SOLO | ASSIST | T/GAME |
| 114 | Benari Black (Johnson C. Smith) | 10 | 48 | 66 | 11.4 |
| 93 | Dereck Barringer (Barton) | 11 | 38 | 55 | 8.5 |
| 90 | Jaelin Willis (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 13 | 39 | 51 | 6.9 |
| 88 | Kennypride Toh (Chowan) | 10 | 41 | 47 | 8.8 |
| 88 | Dexter Fitzpatrick (Mars Hill) | 9 | 33 | 55 | 9.8 |
| 86 | Jack Smith (Johnson C. Smith) | 10 | 35 | 51 | 8.6 |
| 79 | Steven Reid (Mars Hill) | 9 | 29 | 50 | 8.8 |
| 77 | Justin Fleming (Winston-Salem State) | 10 | 51 | 26 | 7.7 |
| 77 | Jamari Slade (Fayetteville State) | 9 | 31 | 46 | 8.6 |
| 76 | Evan Simmons (Catawba) | 11 | 44 | 32 | 6.9 |
| 76 | Matt Smith (Barton) | 10 | 30 | 46 | 7.6 |
| 69 | Elijah Casey (Fayetteville State) | 9 | 33 | 36 | 7.7 |
| 66 | Dontorian Best (Wingate) | 10 | 25 | 41 | 6.6 |
| 65 | Nic Cheeley (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 13 | 41 | 24 | 5.0 |
| 64 | Charles Alberty (Chowan) | 9 | 39 | 25 | 7.1 |
| 63 | Khalil Stimpson (Catawba) | 9 | 30 | 33 | 7.0 |
| 62 | Evan VanMeter (UNC Pembroke) | 11 | 44 | 18 | 5.6 |
| 62 | Jaylen Hinton (Catawba) | 10 | 32 | 30 | 6.2 |
| 61 | Demorian Smith (Elizabeth City State) | 10 | 34 | 27 | 6.1 |
Tackles-For-Loss | Season Leaders
| TFL | PLAYER (SCHOOL) | GAMES | YARDS |
| 19.5 | Marquise Fleming (Wingate) | 11 | 79 |
| 15.0 | Benari Black (Johnson C. Smith) | 10 | 53 |
| 15.0 | Davion Watkins (Livingstone) | 10 | 59 |
| 14.0 | Kai Russell (Wingate) | 11 | 75 |
| 12.0 | Jaelin Willis (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 13 | 45 |
| 11.5 | Christian Santana (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 13 | 57 |
| 11.0 | Shi Gaskin (Fayetteville State) | 8 | 68 |
| 10.5 | Andre Jefferson (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 6 | 52 |
| 9.5 | Carlo Thompson (UNC Pembroke) | 11 | 29 |
| 9.0 | Malik McKinzie (UNC Pembroke) | 9 | 31 |
| 9.0 | Dexter Fitzpatrick (Mars Hill) | 9 | 35 |
| 9.0 | Demorian Smith (Elizabeth City State) | 10 | 26 |
| 9.0 | Kobe Pringle (Livingstone) | 10 | 34 |
| 9.0 | Camar Kyle (Winston-Salem State) | 10 | 37 |
| 9.0 | Jamae Blank (UNC Pembroke) | 11 | 43 |
| 9.0 | Evan Simmons (Catawba) | 11 | 42 |
| 8.5 | Steven Reid (Mars Hill) | 9 | 23 |
| 8.5 | Osmanis Aguilera (Livingstone) | 10 | 70 |
| 8.0 | Lamone Hill (Johnson C. Smith) | 9 | 42 |
| 7.5 | Jack Smith (Johnson C. Smith) | 10 | 22 |
| 7.5 | Na’Shawn Biggs (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 12 | 42 |
| 7.0 | Jalen Alexander (Johnson C. Smith) | 9 | 17 |
| 7.0 | Jonah Kurker (Chowan) | 10 | 21 |
| 7.0 | Danny Foster (Chowan) | 10 | 32 |
| 7.0 | JT Black (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 11 | 50 |
| 7.0 | Daniel Morrison (Wingate) | 11 | 37 |
Sacks | Season Leaders
| SACKS | PLAYER (SCHOOL) | GAMES | YARDS |
| 8.0 | Marquise Fleming (Wingate) | 11 | 55 |
| 7.5 | Kai Russell (Wingate) | 11 | 56 |
| 6.5 | Davion Watkins (Livingstone) | 10 | 36 |
| 6.0 | Jamae Blank (UNC Pembroke) | 11 | 35 |
| 5.5 | Shi Gaskin (Fayetteville State) | 8 | 54 |
| 5.5 | Daniel Morrison (Wingate) | 11 | 41 |
| 5.0 | Andre Jefferson (Lenoir-Rhyne) | 6 | 35 |
| 4.5 | Dexter Fitzpatrick (Mars Hill) | 9 | 21 |
| 4.5 | Osmanis Aguilera (Livingstone) | 10 | 53 |
| 4.5 | Jonah Kurker (Chowan) | 10 | 19 |
| 4.5 | Marquise Raspberry (UNC Pembroke) | 11 | 37 |
Total Tackles | Single-Game Leaders
| TOTAL | PLAYER (SCHOOL) | SOLO | AST | DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT |
| 17 | Jamari Slade (Fayetteville State) | 7 | 10 | Week 9 | Shaw | L, 35-38 |
| 16 | Benari Black (Johnson C. Smith) | 8 | 8 | Week 6 | Virginia State | W, 21-17 |
| 16 | Benari Black (Johnson C. Smith) | 4 | 12 | Week 10 | Fayetteville State | L, 0-27 |
| 16 | Dereck Barringer (Barton) | 4 | 12 | Week 6 | at Carson-Newman | L, 17-28 |
| 15 | Dereck Barringer (Barton) | 11 | 4 | Week 8 | Lenoir-Rhyne | L, 0-20 |
| 15 | Benari Black (Johnson C. Smith) | 8 | 7 | Week 8 | Shaw | W, 21-14 |
| 15 | Ja’Correy Bible (Barton) | 6 | 9 | Week 8 | Lenoir-Rhyne | L, 0-20 |
| 15 | Matt Smith (Barton) | 6 | 9 | Week 2 | West Virginia State | L, 24-27 |
| 14 | Justin Fleming (Winston-Salem State) | 11 | 3 | Week 2 | North Carolina A&T | L, 20-27 OT |
| 14 | Jaiden Nesbit (UNC Pembroke) | 10 | 4 | Week 8 | at Fairmont State | L, 28-37 |
| 14 | Terrence McPherson Jr. (Livingstone) | 8 | 6 | Week 8 | Winston-Salem State | L, 17-31 |
| 14 | Steven Reid (Mars Hill) | 6 | 8 | Week 12 | at Limestone | L, 26-31 |
| 14 | Jack Smith (Johnson C. Smith) | 5 | 9 | Week 10 | Fayetteville State | L, 0-27 |
| 14 | Dexter Fitzpatrick (Mars Hill) | 4 | 10 | Week 7 | Carson-Newman | L, 27-28 |
| 13 | Dereck Barringer (Barton) | 6 | 7 | Week 5 | Anderson | W, 27-13 |
| 13 | Dontorian Best (Wingate) | 6 | 7 | Week 3 | Delta State | W, 21-7 |
| 13 | Jaidyn Hicks (Mars Hill) | 3 | 10 | Week 7 | Carson-Newman | L, 27-28 |
Tackles-For-Loss | Single-Game Leaders
| TFL/YDS | PLAYER (SCHOOL) | DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT |
| 5.0/21 | Malik McKinzie (UNC Pembroke) | Week 12 | at Concord | W, 63-7 |
| 4.0/18 | Shi Gaskin (Fayetteville State) | Week 2 | UNC Pembroke | W, 35-31 |
| 4.0/17 | Davion Watkins (Livingstone) | Week 3 | Allen | W, 23-21 |
| 3.5/17 | Benari Black (Johnson C. Smith) | Week 2 | at Morehouse | W, 37-13 |
| 3.5/14 | Marquise Fleming (Wingate) | Week 4 | at Carson-Newman | L, 28-31 |
| 3.5/11 | Jalen Alexander (Johnson C. Smith) | Week 4 | Virginia Union | W, 21-16 |
| 3.5/10 | Marquise Fleming (Wingate) | Week 6 | at UVA Wise | W, 33-0 |
Sacks | Single-Game Leaders
| SACK/YDS | PLAYER (SCHOOL) | DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT |
| 3.0/19 | Malik McKinzie (UNC Pembroke) | Week 12 | at Concord | W, 63-7 |
| 2.5/15 | Marquise Fleming (Wingate) | Week 3 | Delta State | W, 21-7 |
| 2.0/9 | Jalen Alexander (Johnson C. Smith) | Week 4 | Virginia Union | W, 21-16 |
| 2.0/7 | Davion Watkins (Livingstone) | Week 3 | Allen | W, 23-21 |
| 2.0/15 | Jaelin Willis (Lenoir-Rhyne) | Week 4 | at Mars Hill | W, 29-21 |
| 2.0/15 | Shi Gaskin (Fayetteville State) | Week 2 | UNC Pembroke | W, 35-31 |
| 2.0/15 | Solomon Barnes (Fayetteville State) | Week 7 | at Fayetteville State | L, 19-24 |
| 2.0/13 | Kai Russell (Wingate) | Week 8 | at Limestone | W, 38-12 |
More NC College Football | Stat Champions Content
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