In a division filled with stellar quarterbacks, two North Carolina Division II signal callers stood above the rest, from a statistical standpoint, during the 2024 season.
UNC Pembroke’s Colin Johnson and Lenoir-Rhyne’s Jalen Ferguson dominated the D2 stat sheets in multiple passing categories. As we recap the top statistical performers and performances from 2024, we give both members a share of D2 Stat Champion honors.
Ferguson led the Old North State’s D2 contingent in passing yards. The redshirt junior from Clemmons (West Forsyth HS) amassed 3,276 yards in 13 games, which included a pair of playoff contests. No D2 quarterback completed as many passes as Ferguson (265). Nineteen of his throws went for touchdowns.
Johnson, a redshirt senior from Sanford (Lee County HS), helped orchestrate an amazing season turnaround for UNC Pembroke. At one point the Braves were 0-4, and Johnson was battling through a foot injury sustained in the opener against Wingate.
But then UNCP caught fire, and the Braves became a football fireworks show. With Johnson torching defenses, UNC Pembroke won six out of its last seven games, outscoring foes 392-150.
Johnson finished the year nine yards shy of 3,000 in passing. He wins our D2 Stat Champions crown in passing yards-per-game (271.9) and touchdowns (36). Other season highlights include breaking the UNC Pembroke single-season TD record, earning a national player of the week award and becoming a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy.
In all, five Division II quarterback threw for more than 2,000 yards this season: Darius Ocean (Johnson C. Smith), JR Martin (Mars Hill) and Brooks Bentley (Wingate) joining Ferguson and Johnson. Shaw’s Christian Peters wasn’t far behind with 1,956 passing yards.
Here’s a list of North Carolina’s Division II passing leaders:
2024 D2 Stat Champions | North Carolina Passing Leaders
Passing Yards | Season Leaders
| PLAYER (SCHOOL) | CLASS | YARDS | GAMES | COMP | ATT | TD | INT |
| Jalen Ferguson (Lenoir-Rhyne) | Jr. | 3,276 | 13 | 265 | 436 | 19 | 12 |
| Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) | Jr. | 2,991 | 11 | 194 | 315 | 36 | 17 |
| Darius Ocean (Johnson C. Smith) | Jr. | 2,301 | 10 | 170 | 300 | 16 | 5 |
| JR Martin (Mars Hill) | Sr. | 2,112 | 9 | 155 | 253 | 11 | 4 |
| Brooks Bentley (Wingate) | So. | 2,035 | 11 | 155 | 274 | 15 | 7 |
| Christian Peters (Shaw) | Sr. | 1,956 | 10 | 145 | 273 | 21 | 6 |
| Daylin Lee (Winston-Salem State) | So. | 1,728 | 10 | 144 | 264 | 14 | 5 |
| Joe Owens Jr. (Fayetteville State) | Jr. | 1,545 | 9 | 134 | 216 | 8 | 5 |
| Maurice Smith (Chowan) | Fr. | 1,374 | 9 | 120 | 206 | 8 | 4 |
| Trevor Nored (Barton) | So. | 1,150 | 9 | 103 | 197 | 3 | 7 |
| Preston Brown (Catawba) | Jr. | 1,019 | 5 | 84 | 116 | 10 | 2 |
| Demarcus Creecy (Elizabeth City St) | Fr. | 826 | 7 | 80 | 146 | 6 | 6 |
| Mason Fortune (Catawba) | Fr. | 747 | 4 | 67 | 108 | 4 | 5 |
| De’Angelo Alston (Livingstone) | Fr. | 664 | 6 | 67 | 127 | 3 | 5 |
| Demari Daniels (Fayetteville State) | Jr. | 513 | 6 | 36 | 73 | 4 | 4 |
Passing Yards-Per-Game | Season Leaders
| PLAYER (SCHOOL) | CLASS | YPG | YARDS | GAMES |
| Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) | Jr. | 271.9 | 2,991 | 11 |
| Jalen Ferguson (Lenoir-Rhyne) | Jr. | 252.0 | 3,276 | 13 |
| JR Martin (Mars Hill) | Sr. | 234.7 | 2,112 | 9 |
| Darius Ocean (Johnson C. Smith) | Jr. | 230.1 | 2,301 | 10 |
| Preston Brown (Catawba) | Jr. | 203.8 | 1,019 | 5 |
| Christian Peters (Shaw) | Sr. | 195.6 | 1,956 | 10 |
| Mason Fortune (Catawba) | Fr. | 186.8 | 747 | 4 |
| Brooks Bentley (Wingate) | So. | 185.0 | 2,035 | 11 |
| Daylin Lee (Winston-Salem State) | So. | 172.8 | 1,728 | 10 |
| Joe Owens Jr. (Fayetteville State) | Jr. | 171.7 | 1,545 | 9 |
| Maurice Smith (Chowan) | Fr. | 152.7 | 1,374 | 9 |
| Trevor Nored (Barton) | So. | 127.8 | 1,150 | 9 |
| Demarcus Creecy (Elizabeth City St) | Fr. | 118.0 | 826 | 7 |
| De’Angelo Alston (Livingstone) | Fr. | 110.7 | 664 | 6 |
| Demari Daniels (Fayetteville State) | Jr. | 85.5 | 513 | 6 |
Passing Touchdowns | Season Leaders
| PLAYER (SCHOOL) | CLASS | TD | GAMES | INT |
| Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) | Jr. | 36 | 11 | 17 |
| Christian Peters (Shaw) | Sr. | 21 | 10 | 6 |
| Jalen Ferguson (Lenoir-Rhyne) | Jr. | 19 | 13 | 12 |
| Darius Ocean (Johnson C. Smith) | Jr. | 16 | 10 | 5 |
| Brooks Bentley (Wingate) | So. | 15 | 11 | 7 |
| Daylin Lee (Winston-Salem State) | So. | 14 | 10 | 5 |
| JR Martin (Mars Hill) | Sr. | 11 | 9 | 4 |
| Preston Brown (Catawba) | Jr. | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| Joe Owens Jr. (Fayetteville State) | Jr. | 8 | 9 | 5 |
| Maurice Smith (Chowan) | Fr. | 8 | 9 | 4 |
| Demarcus Creecy (Elizabeth City St) | Fr. | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Mason Fortune (Catawba) | Fr. | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Demari Daniels (Fayetteville State) | Jr. | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| De’Angelo Alston (Livingstone) | Fr. | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Trevor Nored (Barton) | So. | 3 | 9 | 7 |
Passing Yards | Single-Game Leaders (300+ Yards)
Johnson and Ferguson own the top four single-game passing performances from the 2024 Division II football season.
Johnson threw a state’s best seven touchdowns in a 67-20 romp over West Liberty in week seven. He finished 29-of-43 in that contest for 514 yards. Johnson was the only North Carolina D2 quarterback to hit the 500-yard mark this fall.
Johnson finished with 451 passing yards and five passing TDs at Concord in week 12.
Ferguson helped Lenoir-Rhyne advance past West Alabama in the playoffs with a career day. He threw for 411 yards and three touchdowns in the 37-34 comeback win. Ferguson, who announced that he has committed to Campbell for 2025, also had three other 300-yard passing games.
In all, the Division II season in North Carolina featured 20 passing performances of 300 yards or better. We charted them all below:
Player (School) COMP ATT YDS TD INT LONG DATE OPPONENT RESULT Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 29 43 514 7 2 62 Week 7 West Liberty W, 67-20 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 23 35 451 5 0 71 Week 12 at Concord W, 63-7 Jalen Ferguson (Lenoir-Rhyne) 22 40 411 3 0 78 Week 13 at West Alabama (playoffs) W, 37-34 Jalen Ferguson (Lenoir-Rhyne) 23 34 351 1 0 75 Week 5 Tusculum W, 37-23 Mason Fortune (Catawba) 28 45 348 1 2 54 Week 10 at Catawba L, 35-49 JR Martin (Mars Hill) 18 28 345 2 0 87 Week 11 at Anderson W, 31-16 Joe Owens Jr. (Fayetteville State) 26 41 342 1 0 69 Week 6 Bowie State W, 27-24 Darius Ocean (Johnson C. Smith) 18 26 331 1 0 80 Week 3 Lincoln (PA) W, 52-6 Jalen Ferguson (Lenoir-Rhyne) 25 36 328 2 1 48 Week 7 Newberry W, 24-3 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 20 28 324 4 2 85 Week 6 at Wheeling W, 35-32 Christian Peters (Shaw) 20 42 322 5 2 53 Week 2 at Albany State W, 43-40 Joe Owens Jr. (Fayetteville State) 29 47 318 2 0 88 Week 11 at Winston-Salem State L, 31-37 2OT Maurice Smith (Chowan) 19 35 316 2 1 68 Week 12 at North Greenville L, 27-31 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 24 47 315 3 2 55 Week 8 at Fairmont State L, 28-37 JR Martin (Mars Hill) 22 26 311 1 0 28 Week 9 at UVA Wise W, 31-17 Trevor Nored (Barton) 24 39 310 0 1 36 Week 2 West Virginia State L, 24-27 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 15 23 309 4 2 61 Week 9 West Virginia State W, 62-17 Mason Fortune (Catawba) 28 40 306 1 3 49 Week 11 Lenoir-Rhyne L, 14-33 Jalen Ferguson (Lenoir-Rhyne) 25 39 304 1 1 78 Week 4 at Mars Hill W, 29-21 Preston Brown (Catawba) 23 33 304 1 1 84 Week 4 at UVA Wise L, 28-31
Passing Touchdowns | Single-Game Leaders (4+ TDs)
Nine times this season, North Carolina D2 quarterbacks tallied at least four touchdown passes in a game. UNC Pembroke’s Johnson was responsible for six of those instances. Peters did it twice, while Catawba’s Preston Brown did it once.
Player (School) TD COMP ATT YDS INT LONG DATE OPPONENT RESULT Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 7 29 43 514 2 62 Week 7 West Liberty W, 67-20 Christian Peters (Shaw) 5 20 42 322 2 53 Week 2 at Albany State W, 43-40 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 5 23 35 451 0 71 Week 12 at Concord W, 63-7 Christian Peters (Shaw) 4 15 23 220 0 31 Week 4 Lincoln (PA) W, 48-14 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 4 20 28 324 2 85 Week 6 at Wheeling W, 35-32 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 4 15 23 309 2 61 Week 9 West Virginia State W, 62-17 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 4 21 33 288 0 58 Week 11 Frostburg State W, 58-17 Colin Johnson (UNC Pembroke) 4 11 18 166 1 22 Week 10 West Virginia Wesleyan W, 79-20 Preston Brown (Catawba) 4 24 29 295 0 37 Week 3 at Shaw W, 37-28
