Golden Bulls Win Homecoming Thriller Over St. Aug's, 14-10
Box Score Charlotte, N.C. (Nov. 1, 2014) –
Chris Patterson hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining to lift Johnson C. Smith to a thrilling 14-10 homecoming win over St. Augustine's on a cold and damp Saturday afternoon at the Irwin Belk Complex.
JCSU trailed the Falcons 10-7 after giving up an eight-yard touchdown pass with just 32 seconds remaining. St. Augustine's Claytin Lewis provided the go-ahead catch from quarterback Cyril Davis, which capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive that chewed up 2:58 late in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Bulls took their first lead in the action-packed fourth quarter with 3:30 left on an eight-yard pass from
Keahn Wallace (Homestead, Fla.) to
Fred Scott (Stone Mountain, Ga.) ,putting JCSU up 7-3.
St. Augustine's Michael Lima provided the only score of the first half on a 25-yard field goal at the 10:30 mark in the second quarter.
The two teams struggled against one another for the majority of the first half, due to the muddy field conditions and the damp and blustery afternoon. Neither team could get their offenses in sync through much of the game, as the defenses provided most of the highlights. The JCSU defense was able to force Falcon fumbles, recovering two. JCSU also registered an interception on the afternoon when
Damion Miles (Beaufort, S.C.) thwarted the Falcon drive with 7:06 remaining in the final frame.
Defensively, JCSU was led by
Austin Jacques (Springdale, Md.), as he registered six tackles on the afternoon while assisting on 11 stops.
Senior running back
LeAnder Barney (Erie, Pa.) rushed for 140 yards on 24 carries for JCSU while
Richard Brannon (Charlotte, N.C.) added 18 yards on six carries.
Chris Patterson (Pendleton, S.C) hauled in three catches on the afternoon for 68 yards, including the game-winner while Scott also notched a receiving touchdown. Patterson finished with 68 yards on three catches while Scott accounted for 24 yards on three catches. Terrell Hutchinson (Great Falls, S.C.) caught a pair of passes for 69 yards. Rounding out the receiving on the afternoon was
Avius Capers (Charlotte, N.C.), as he secured one catch for 12 yards.
Quarterback
Andrew Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) passed for 88 yards on a 7-21 outing while Wallace connected on 4 of 5 passes for 98 yards.
St. Augustine's was paced by Cyril Davis, as he threw for 221 yards and a touchdown on a 20-33 effort. Davis also threw one interception. Roderick Davenport rushed for 83 yards and became only the second Falcon running back to surpass the 1,000 yard rushing mark in a season since 2003.
With the win, Johnson C. Smith improves to 2-7 overall, 1-5 in CIAA play while St. Augustine's falls to 2-7 overall, 2-4 in league play.
The Golden Bulls will play the season-finale on Nov. 8, hosting long-time rival Livingstone in the 6th edition of the Commemorative Classic. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at JCSU's Irwin Belk Complex.
