Shaw football snapped a decade-long losing streak against Fayetteville State on Saturday afternoon, prevailing 38-35 in CIAA action.
Typical of what the series has been in recent years, the game in Fayetteville came down to the wire. The Bears mounted a 13-play, 80-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, netting the go-ahead points on a Christian Peters 3-yard run with 35 seconds left.
The Broncos moved to the Shaw 29 with five ticks remaining after a couple of pass plays and a 16-yard shotgun rush by QB Joe Owens Jr. But a 44-yard field goal missed as time expired, and the Bears happily collected their first win over FSU since a 44-34 triumph in October 2013.
To say Fayetteville State has dominated the recent series would be a bit of an overstatement, though. Yes, the Broncos won nine games in a row. But two were decided by 1 point, three more by 2 points, two by 7 points and another by 8 points. The only “blowout” was a 36-39 Fayetteville State victory in 2015.
Still, the win-loss column doesn’t care about the margin of victory, and finally Shaw did what it had to do to earn the check mark in the ‘W’ box.
Shaw is now 5-4 overall with one game left to play, 3-3 in CIAA action. Fayetteville State, a regular in the CIAA championship game over the past six seasons, dropped to 3-4, 2-3 and will be onlookers at this year’s title contest in Salem, Va.
The Bears used a multi-dimensional offense on Saturday afternoon, getting 238 passing yards from Peters, who was 18-for-30 with one pass TD to Maceo Wingate. Travon Tensley earned 115 yards on the ground and found the end zone once. Jatione Fields had the other Shaw rushing touchdown.
Benjamin Turner hit a field goal for the Bears in the first half, while Sincyr Williams turned a fumble recovery into another score in the third quarter.
Owens had an efficient day passing for Fayetteville State, completing 15-of-18 throws for 203 yards and a touchdown strike to Kameron King. Caden Davis turned five short-yardage touches into three trips to the end zone. Braylon Vinson had another TD run for the Broncos.
Derrick Alston was FSU’s leading rusher, earning 94 yards on 11 totes, an average of 8.5 yards per carry. Jamari Slade had 17 tackles on the defensive side.
Fayetteville State led for much of the first half, building a 21-10 advantage midway through the second period. The lead changed hands five times in the second half.
Shaw got the ball back down 35-31 with 5:44 to play at its own 20. Tensley rushed twice for 8 yards, and Peters kept the drive alive with a 3-yard gain. A 1-yard run by Tensley was followed by a 15-yard targetting penalty on FSU. That put the ball at the Shaw 47.
Ah’shaan Belcher turned a short pass from Peters into a 32-yard catch-and-run. But a holding penalty on a teammate during the play sent them back to the FSU 30. A steady dose of Tensley up the middle moved the ball to the Broncos’ 3. Peters handled the rest, taking it through the middle for the score. Benjamin Turner added the all-important PAT.
Fayetteville State was the master of winning nailbiters a year ago, including a 21-14 win at Shaw that included a 60-yard touchdown pass to Nigel Fitzgerald with 20 seconds to go. It looked like that scenario might unfold again Saturday.
Owens hit David Baros for 10 yards, then completed a 20-yard throw over the middle to Emanuel Ortega-Garcia to the Shaw 45. Timeout FSU with 14 seconds left.
Owens got out of bounds at the Bears 29 with a scramble, setting up a chance to force OT. But this time the break went the other way, the tying field goal missed and Shaw held on for the victory.
The Bears will host Livingstone next week in what is their season finale. Shaw will be on a bye week on Nov. 9 while the rest of the CIAA finishes out the campaign, the result of St. Augustine’s not fielding a football team this year.
Fayetteville State has two games left — both on the road — and can play spoiler for two of its biggest rivals. The Broncos visit undefeated Johnson C. Smith next Saturday and then will take aim at 6-3 Winston-Salem State on Nov. 9.
Shaw 38, Fayetteville State 35
1st Quarter
- 09:36 – FSU: Caden Davis 2-yard run (John Hernandez-Vargas kick)
Drive: 5 plays, 43 yards, Time of Possession (TOP) 2:39
Shaw 0, Fayetteville State 7 - 04:20 – FSU: Caden Davis 1-yard run (John Hernandez-Vargas kick)
Drive: 9 plays, 90 yards, TOP 4:01
Shaw 0, Fayetteville State 14
2nd Quarter
- 14:15 – Shaw: Jatoine Fields 10-yard run (Benjamin Turner kick)
Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:58
Shaw 7, Fayetteville State 14 - 11:12 – Shaw: Benjamin Turner 30-yard field goal
Drive: 7 plays, 20 yards, TOP 2:48
Shaw 10, Fayetteville State 14 - 06:17 – FSU: Braylon Vinson 3-yard run (John Hernandez-Vargas kick)
Drive: 2 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:46
Shaw 10, Fayetteville State 21 - 00:44 – Shaw: Maceo Wingate 56-yard pass from Christian Peters (Benjamin Turner kick)
Drive: 1 play, 56 yards, TOP 0:17
Shaw 17, Fayetteville State 21
3rd Quarter
- 04:26 – Shaw: Sincyr Williams 1-yard fumble recovery (Benjamin Turner kick)
Shaw 24, Fayetteville State 21
4th Quarter
- 13:05 – FSU: Caden Davis 1-yard run (John Hernandez-Vargas kick)
Drive: 5 plays, 52 yards, TOP 1:58
Shaw 24, Fayetteville State 28 - 10:19 – Shaw: Travon Tensley 4-yard run (Benjamin Turner kick)
Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:46
Shaw 31, Fayetteville State 28 - 05:53 – FSU: Kameron King 6-yard pass from Joe Owens, Jr. (John Hernandez-Vargas kick)
Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:18
Shaw 31, Fayetteville State 35 - 00:35 – Shaw: Christian Peters 3-yard run (Benjamin Turner kick)
Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:09
Shaw 38, Fayetteville State 35
Final Score: Shaw 38, Fayetteville State 35
