Four of North Carolina’s seven FCS teams got into the win column this week, and a number of players put up eye-popping statistics, especially on the offensive end.
Hats off to Davidson for getting its first victory – in convincing fashion. Western Carolina impressed again. Elon proved smothering on defense – and had a few tricks in the special teams game. Campbell earned its first CAA triumph.
Gardner-Webb suffered a heartbreaker in an NFL Stadium. NC Central saw the end of a seven-game winning streak, albeit to a top-25 FBS team, UCLA. NC A&T is still searching for answers with an offense that just can’t move the ball.
Here are our players of the week (a full list of candidates on the offensive end – see honorable mention picks below):
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Offensive Player of the Week: Coulter Cleland
Davidson | Sophomore | Quarterback
For the second week in a row, a quarterback from a North Carolina college team made his second career start, threw for five touchdowns and led his team to a big victory.
Last week, it was Catawba’s Preston Brown. This week, it’s Davidson’s Cleland. The sophomore from Racine, Ohio, lit up the scoreboard in the Wildcats’ 49-21 win at Marist. Cleland completed 17-of-21 passes for 303 yards and five TD throw — to five different receivers.
Four of Cleland’s scoring strikes covered 20 or more yards. It has been nearly a decade (2014) since a Davidson quarterback has thrown for 300-plus yards. The Wildcats have made their money with the ground game in recent years, averaging better than 300 yards in that facet. Cleland gives Davidson another avenue to move the football, which will come in handy as the ‘Cats pursue a Pioneer Football League title and FCS playoff berth.
The Pioneer Football League announced Cleland as its offensive player of the week on Sunday evening.
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Defensive Player of the Week: Marvin Pearson
Elon | Senior | DE
Elon stymied North Carolina A&T all night in a 27-3 CAA victory. The Aggies managed just 143 total yards and punted seven times.
Pearson played a big role in leading the stopping unit. He recorded six tackles, wrangled two quarterback sacks and had 2.5 tackles for loss.
Pearson was named one of the Elon players of the week by coaches. For the game, he helped control the line of scrimmage.
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Special Teams Player of the Week: Kyle Romenick
Elon | Junior | Punter
Romenick’s punting numbers proved impressive on their own. He averaged 42.2 yards on five kicks, booming a 57-yarder and putting one inside the A&T 20-yard-line.
But Romenick also was responsible for one of two Elon passing touchdowns. The Phoenix lined up to punt at the A&T 35-yard line. Most in the crowd thought Romenick would pooch-punt the ball to try and pin the Aggies back inside their 10.
Instead Romenick faked the kick and threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to DJ Hamilton. The score in the early part of the fourth quarter capped the dominating CAA victory. For the season.
Romenick is averaging 43.4 yards on his punts.
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Other Notable Performances
Caleb Curtain (Elon): Picked off a pass and recorded six tackles as the Phoenix kept A&T’s offense in check most of the night.
Jayden Flaker (NC Central): While the Eagles struggled against the UCLA Bruins in a 59-7 loss, Flaker can always say he intercepted a pass in the Rose Bowl. Teammate Chris Mosley scored the Eagles’ touchdown in the iconic stadium.
Narii Gaither (Gardner-Webb): Rushed for 152 yards in the loss at Tennessee State, moving past Jonny Walker (1974-77) for the third-most rushing yards in Gardner-Webb history. Gaither has now rushed for 2,757 career yards. Gaither also had a 16-yard TD catch in the game.
Cole Gonzales (Western Carolina): Passed for 340 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Branson Adams, in the final minute of the Catamounts’ 27-24 triumph over Eastern Kentucky.
Jalen Hampton (Elon): Recorded 153 yards on 16 carries, averaging nearly a first-down’s worth of yardage on each attempt. He was 24 yards shy of his career best.
Censere Lee (Western Carolina): Caught two of Cole Gonzales’ three touchdown passes, covering 45 and 15 yards. He finished with 88 total receiving yards.
Desmond Reid (Western Carolina): Rushed for a career-high 177 yards with a short-yardage touchdown at Eastern Kentucky. He also caught four passes for 63 yards, giving him 240 total yards on the day.
NaQuari Rogers (Campbell): Rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns in the Camels’ 45-31 come-from-behind win at Monmouth. Rogers recorded the go-ahead touchdown with 9:37 to play on a 32-yard run.
BJ Turner (NC A&T): Recorded a team-best 11 tackles against Elon, forcing a fumble and coming up with one sack.
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More FCS Headlines From NC Football News
- Class of 2025 commit follows brother to Elon
Defensive back/athletic Tyler Hart plays for Baltimore powerhouse Dunbar High - Test your prognosticating skills with our Carolina College Pick’em Challenge
New contest will debut this football season; Free to enter - NC A&T: Tennessee State, Princeton added to future football schedules
Aggies have most non-conference slots filled through 2028; rivalry with NCCU set through 2030 - FCS Football Spotlight: Elon safety tandem has All-America credentials
Caleb Curtain and Khalil Baker will give Phoenix a fierce defensive backfield this season - Gardner-Webb: Future football schedules include FBS, SoCon foes
Bulldogs will play Charlotte, James Madison this season; Georgia Tech and Ohio loom in 2025 non-conference
