Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 31, 2015) – Johnson C. Smith rode another strong defensive effort and cashed in on five St. Augustine's turnovers to take a 22-3 CIAA win at the George Williams Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Senior safety
Carlo Thomas (East Orange, N.J.) continued his strong play, picking off a Falcon pass in the end zone on SAU's second drive of the game. SAU blocked a JCSU punt to set them up in good field position, but Thomas' heroics thwarted the Falcon drive with 10:25 left in the opening stanza.
After the teams traded punts, JCSU was finally able to break through when
Erik Amaya (Kannapolis, N.C.) booted a 42 yards field goal to give JCSU the 3-0 lead with 1:18 left in the first quarter.
On the next SAU drive, Thomas picked off Jovahn Williams for his second interception of the game. That pick was his ninth in the past three weeks and 12
th of the season. Coming into the game, he led the NCAA (All Divisions) in interceptions.
Midway through the second quarter, JCSU extended their lead to 10-0 after a
Harold Herbin (Fayetteville, N.C.) five-yard scamper. That drive was set up after
Fred Scott (Stone Mountain, Ga.) returned a SAU punt 42 yards to their 28. JCSU's scoring drive went for three plays and 28 yards, taking up 53 seconds on the second quarter clock.
St. Augustine's would then go on a 12-play drive that ended when JCSU linebacker
Austin Jacques (Springdale, Md.) stopped D.J. Johnson on a fourth and six play. Neither team would score the rest of the half, with JCSU taking the 10-0 lead into the break.
The Falcons got on the board in the third quarter when Sean Smith nailed a 33 yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 5:05 remaining. JCSU would respond with a field goal of its own when Amaya connected from 32 yards out to push the JCSU lead to 13-3. On the next SAU drive, the Falcons again went for a conversion on a fourth and 1 play from their own 44 as time expired in the third quarter. SAU's Williams would cough up the ball and JCSU's
Desmond Taylor (Picayune, Miss.) scooped the fumble and raced 18 yards for the touchdown. Amaya's point after pushed JCSU ahead 20-3.
On SAU's first drive of the fourth quarter, JCSU cornerback
Daryl Napper (Winston-Salem, N.C.) came away with his first pick of the year with 12:51 left, stopping another SAU drive.
JCSU's final points of the afternoon came with 6:32 left, when
Adonis Tillman (Atlanta, Ga.) blocked Richard Pedrosa's punt out of the back of the endzone, resulting in a safety that provided the 22-3 final.
Offensively, JCSU quarterback
Jordan Lane (Charlotte, N.C.) completed 15-of-23 passes for 179 yards. He threw one interception on the afternoon. Running back
Tromecio Summers (Charlotte, N.C.) had 48 yards on 10 carries while teammate
Desean Binyard (Winston-Salem, N.C.) carried nine times for 20 yards.
Fred Scott ended his day with seven receptions for 86 yards.
Roderick Carter (Miami, Fla.) had four catches for 44 yards while
Eugene Holmes (Columbia, S.C.) hauled in three passes for 36 yards.
For the JCSU defense, senior linebacker
Austin Jacques finished with a team-high 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and had one interception. Defensive lineman
Jamaal Tutt (Atlanta, Ga.) continued his strong play, registering nine tackles, three of the solo variety. Safety
Carlo Thomas remained on fire, picking off two SAU passes and contributing six tackles on the day, one of while was for loss. He also added a pass breakup.
With the win, JCSU improves to 4-5 overall, 3-3 in CIAA play while St. Augustine's falls to 0-9 overall and 0-6 in league play.
The last time JCSU won three consecutive games was in 2012, when the Golden Bulls won their first three games.
The Golden Bulls will conclude the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 7, travelling to archrival Livingstone for the 7
th Annual Commemorative Classic. Kickoff against the Blue Bears is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury, N.C.
