For three quarters, the much-anticipated Johnson C. Smith–Fayetteville State football showdown was little more than a grind. Defensive stops. Short possessions. Too many media timeouts and not nearly enough fireworks.
JCSU’s methodical, ball-control approach produced a 10-0 lead, while Fayetteville State’s offense looked stuck in neutral — unable to find any rhythm or spark.
Then came the fourth quarter.
Over the ensuing 15 minutes, Luther “Nick” Jeralds Stadium witnessed a season’s worth of momentum swings and emotional whiplash. Big plays. Costly mistakes. Late heroics. By the time the clock hit zero, one Johnson C. Smith fan summed it up best while exhaling on his way out:
“Glad I took my blood-pressure medication today.”
The Golden Bulls left Fayetteville with a 17-14 victory — and maybe their most defining win of the season. Or even the modern era.
Fortunes come full circle
A magical Johnson C. Smith football season came to a screeching halt at this point in 2024. Fayetteville State stung the previously undefeated Golden Bulls 27-0 in Charlotte, and the team never recovered – falling to Livingstone in the final week and missing out on both the CIAA championship game and D2 playoffs.
JCSU seemed to have exorcised those demons through the first three quarters Saturday. A 32-yard field goal from Lukasz Smolen in the opening quarter and a 3-yard touchdown run from quarterback Kelvin Durham in the second gave the Bulls a 10-0 lead. With the defense keeping Fayetteville State handcuffed, that advantage appeared insurmountable.
Fayetteville State punted six times in its first seven possessions. The other series ended with a failed fourth-down play, which gave the ball to Johnson C. Smith in Broncos territory and set up Durham’s TD.
But everything would change when FSU’s Albert Fleming IV lined up for his seventh punt on the first play of the fourth quarter. Johnson C. Smith had one more crucible to face before erasing a decade-long losing streak to the Broncos – overcoming its own mistakes.
Victory at last – and well-earned
Johnson C. Smith muffed Fleming’s punt, and Ryan Debow covered the loose ball for the home team at the Golden Bulls’ 35. Suddenly, everything felt different on Murchison Road.
Fayetteville State scored six plays later, with Bryce Council sprinting into the end zone along the Broncos’ sideline from 21 yards away. John Hernandez-Vargas provided the extra point, and there was a collective tightening of the stomach for those wearing JCSU colors.
Johnson C. Smith advanced into Fayetteville State territory twice following the kickoff, but both series fizzled out. Smolen’s second punt pinned the Broncos back on their own 8-yard-line, but an offense that had struggled all day suddenly found life. One play after a pass interference penalty on the Bulls, quarterback Demari Daniels found Xayden Watson deep over the middle, and the speedy receiver bolted 51 yards for a touchdown.
The Hernandez-Vargas PAT put Fayetteville State ahead 14-10, and it looked like the Broncos’ mastery over Johnson C. Smith would continue for yet another season. Another round of What Could Have Been.
The Bulls – their star quarterback and their bullish running back, Bobby Smith – had other plans, though. They were determined to complete what last year’s squad couldn’t against a pesky rival.
Johnson C. Smith had been methodical all-day, preferring a slower tempo approach and keeping the ball in the hands of Smith – a 210-pound workhorse who had enjoyed his first 100-yard rushing performance the week before against Winston-Salem State.
The Bulls worked their way into FSU territory and eventually advanced to the 19, but Shawn Robinson sacked Durham for an 11-yard loss. On third-and-21, Durham dumped the ball to Clinton Riley for 12 yards, then scrambled himself for another 12 to keep the drive alive and avert a turnover on downs.
Durham’s clutch run set up Bobby Smith’s heroic payoff. Smith took a handoff over the right side from the 6-yard-line and literally willed his way into the end zone, carrying Fayetteville State tacklers with him. As Smith fell into the royal blue end-zone turf – barely – the Golden Bulls retook the lead. And turned its own football history upside down.
This isn’t the same Johnson C. Smith program that has dwelled near the bottom of the CIAA standings for years on end. Coach Maurice Flowers has made sure of that since returning to his alma mater in 2022. Saturday marked another big step toward becoming the new kings of North Carolina CIAA football, a place Fayetteville State has held for most of the last decade.
What Saturday’s win means for Bulls, Broncos
Johnson C. Smith improved to 8-1 overall, 5-1 in CIAA play with Saturday’s triumph. The Golden Bulls’ snapped Fayetteville State’s five-game win streak, won for the first time in the series in a decade, dropped the Broncos to 5-1 in the CIAA and gained the all-important tiebreaker edge over their rival.
Johnson C. Smith controls its own destiny now in the CIAA race. The Golden Bulls will make the title game with a win Saturday against Livingstone. A loss doesn’t necessarily knock them out, but it reopens the door for Fayetteville State to steal their spot. Virginia State, with two conference losses, also looms should other teams stumble.
Virginia Union, the 2024 champion, leads the CIAA with a 6-0 record – and has a head-to-head win over Johnson C. Smith. The conference championship game will be played Saturday, Nov. 15 at Durham County Memorial Stadium.
JCSU won its only CIAA football title in 1969. That’s the next goal on the list.
Fayetteville State, meanwhile, will try to finish strong on Saturday against Winston-Salem State. The Broncos made the first set of D2 Super Region rankings but likely will be hard-pressed to stay there.
Johnson C. Smith 17, Fayetteville State 14
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 | Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
JCSU – Lukasz Smolen 32-yard field goal, 3:36
2nd Quarter
JCSU – Kelvin Durham 3-yard run (Smolen kick), 2:44
4th Quarter
FSU – Bryce Council 21-yard run (John Hernandez-Vargas kick), 13:25
FSU – Xayden Watson 52-yard pass from Demari Daniels (Hernandez-Vargas kick), 3:28
JCSU – Bobby Smith 6-yard run (Smolen kick), 0:13
Stat Leaders
Johnson C. Smith
- Kelvin Durham: 20-of-27 passing, 182 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; 9 rushes, 33 yards, 1 TD
- Bobby Smith: 31 rushes, 113 yards, 1 TD, 3.6 yards per carry
- Deandre Proctor: 6 catches, 57 yards
- Vincent Hill: 10 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks
Fayetteville State
- Demari Daniels: 16-of-25 passing, 149 yards, 1 TD
- Bryce Council: 13 rushes, 78 yards, 1 TD, 6.0 yards per carry
- Xayden Watson: 2 catches, 62 yards, 1 TD
- Matthew Leach: 12 tackles, 0.5 TFL
- Jatavien Taylor: 10 tackles (8 solo), 1 TFL, interception
- Shawn Robinson: 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFLs
