It was feast or famine for North Carolina’s seven FCS college football teams on Saturday.
Western Carolina and Gardner-Webb feasted on conference foes, earning comfortable victories. Meanwhile, North Carolina Central and Davidson stubbed their toes for the first time in their respective leagues. Elon, Campbell and North Carolina A&T also suffered losses.
Here are recaps from Saturday’s FCS action, plus takeaways and top players.
Game Recaps
Western Carolina 58, East Tennessee State 7: Cole Gonzales threw for 363 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Catamounts to an easy victory in the Blue Ridge Border Battle. Branson Adams, subbing for the injured Desmond Reid at running back, added 110 rushing yards and a touchdown as WCU improved to 7-3, 5-2 in the Southern Conference.
Gardner-Webb 35, Tennessee State 0: The Bulldogs scored all of their points in the opening half as head coach Tre Lamb beat his alma mater. Jamari Brown and Ja’Kai Young returned interceptions for scores, while quarterback Jalen King threw three touchdown passes.
Howard 50, North Carolina Central 20: The Bison snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Eagles and pinned NCCU with its first MEAC loss. Quinton Williams threw three touchdown passes and Jarett Hunter rushed for 113 yards and two scores for the victors.
Morehead State 47, Davidson 17: Bryce Patterson threw six touchdown passes for Morehead State, while Wildcat quarterbacks threw six interceptions. The result brought Davidson’s seven-game win streak to a resounding halt and threatens their playoff hopes.
Delaware 45, Campbell 7: The No. 8 team in the FCS ended the Camels’ chances at finishing with a winning season. Ryan O’Connor threw for four touchdowns, and Khalil Dawsey picked off two passes for the Blue Hens.
Rhode Island 31, North Carolina A&T 24: The Aggies gave the Rams everything they could handle, scoring twice in the fourth quarter and getting the ball back late with a chance to tie the game. But a fumble ended that drive inside the Rams 40, and Rhode Island hung on for the victory, dropping the Aggies to 1-9 on the season.
Richmond 38, Elon 24: The Spiders scored 21 points in the second quarter to pull away and captured an all-important win in the battle for first place in the crowded CAA standings. Matthew Downing completed 19 throws for 281 yards and two touchdowns for Elon.
Major Takeaways
* Western Carolina, ranked 17th in the latest media poll and 21st in the coaches poll, earned a nice resume building win to help its playoff cause. The Catamounts (7-3, 5-2 SoCon) believe they need to get to eight wins to lock up an FCS berth. The season finale comes next Saturday at VMI.
* WCU came into Saturday leading the FCS in total offense (490.9 yards per game). That ranking should continue this week as the Catamounts recorded 687 yards of offense, including 513 through the air.
Western played four quarterbacks on Saturday. Bennett Judy went 6-of-8 for 71 yards. Brody Palhegyi completed 2-of-4 passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. Taron Dickens threw two passes, completing one for 36 yards. Twelve different players caught passes, and nine had at least 25 receiving yards.
* Gardner-Webb (6-4, 4-1) remains in the hunt for the Big South/OVC Football Association championship. If the Bulldogs can beat Charleston Southern on Saturday at home, they’ll take the league’s automatic berth. GWU won the Big South a year ago and made the playoffs.
* Gardner-Webb has never had two pick-sixes in the same game before. The Bulldogs intercepted three passes on the day, with Brandon Wilson recording the other.
* Tennessee Tech went for it on fourth down five times and did not convert once. Tech, which managed just 23 rushing yards, was 6-of-22 on third-down conversion attempts against GWU.
* NC Central’s magical season, which included a program best No. 7 national ranking, came crashing to a halt on Saturday in the nation’s capital. The Eagles haven’t lost the MEAC title yet but don’t control their own destiny now.
Howard, Central and Morgan State all have 3-1 conference records. NCCU has the tiebreaker over Morgan State by virtue of a head-to-head win. The Eagles need to beat Delaware State next week and hope Morgan State can stop Howard in the season finale.
* Like NC Central, Davidson found itself, unexpectedly, getting drubbed by an opponent with a less-formidable record. Like Central, the ‘Cats are going to need help to win their conference.
The Wildcats are 6-1 in Pioneer Football League play, one game behind 7-0 Drake. The two teams don’t meet on the field. Davidson closes against Dayton (3-7) next week, while Drake will visit Butler (7-3) looking to wrap up the Pioneer title.
* Five CAA teams, including Elon, entered the weekend with just one conference loss. Elon was the only team among that group to fall, dropping to 5-2 in league play. Delaware, Villanova, Albany and Richmond improved to 6-1, likely ending Elon’s quest for a conference crown.
* NC A&T continues to make strides offensively, but victories still prove elusive. The Aggies rushed for 209 yards and passed for another 161. The defeats are deflating, but this is a team that hasn’t quit on the season.
The quarterbacks continue to make forward strides. Eli Brickhandler did an able job running the offense Saturday.
Top Players
Branson Adams (Western Carolina): Averaged 6.5 yards per carry and enjoyed a 100-yard rushing day. He also caught a touchdown pass from Gonzales.
Mari Adams (Davidson): Rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt. His long run of the day covered 57 yards.
Jordan Bonner (Elon): Didn’t find the end zone but led the Phoenix in receiving with six catches for 122 yards. Hauled in a 53-yard throw, the longest of the day for his team.
Eli Brickhandler (NC A&T): Aggies starting quarterback for the third time this season rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown, while throwing for 161 yards and a score. He did not throw an interception.
Lee Censere (Western Carolina): Made seven catches for 127 yards and a touchdown.
Matthew Downing (Elon): Threw for 281 yards and tossed a pair of touchdown throws to Johncarlos Miller II and Jamarien Dalton.
Samaurie Dukes (Western Carolina): Intercepted two East Tennessee State passes and had two tackles.
Ty French (Gardner-Webb): Paced the Bulldogs defense with eight tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss.
Narii Gaither (Gardner-Webb): Struggled to run the ball at his usual clip (nine carries for 32 yards) but caught two of King’s three TD throws, including a 59-yard reception in the first quarter.
Cole Gonzales (Western Carolina): Completed 25 of 38 passes for 363 yards and five touchdowns. He wasn’t intercepted and was only sacked once. His touchdown throws covered 40, 38, 5, 31 and 6 yards.
Brendan Jackson (Gardner-Webb): Earned two sacks (minus 21) yards and another tackle-for-loss. Finished with seven stops in all.
Jaylen King (Gardner-Webb): Completed 12-of-19 passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns.
Richard McCollum (Western Carolina): Made all three field goal attempts and converted 7-of-7 PATs for 16 total points.
Kade Moledor (NC A&T): The Aggies, missing one of their top players in BJ Turner, got a big game from Moledor, who had 12 tackles and an interception.
David White (Western Carolina): Earned six catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Ja’Kai Young and Jamari Brown (Gardner-Webb): Returned interceptions for touchdowns (23 and 33 yards, respectively), becoming the first duo to do that in the same game in Gardner-Webb history.
Final Words
The last Saturday of the regular season will be high-stakes for Western Carolina, Gardner-Webb, North Carolina Central and Davidson. All must win to keep their ultimate season goals alive.
Gardner-Webb can clinch its second straight conference title with a victory. NC Central and Davidson will need help to win their respective conferences even if they do prevail. Western, trying to sew up a playoff berth, can’t afford a stumble.
Campbell at NC A&T will be an intriguing final game for those two squads, both looking to end on a solid note. Elon still has a chance to finish above .500, though conference title hopes slipped way this week.
