Senior ends Harris, Wilkerson step up for WSSU Rams

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  With Winston-Salem State needing some timely big plays to get rolling, two senior defensive ends provided Saturday night.
Neither Mareece Harris nor Justin Wilkerson had the opportunity to play last season when the Rams came up just short of getting to the Division II national championship game in a semifinal loss to Wayne State. Wilkerson was injured, and fellow transfer Harris wasn’t yet eligible.

But this time, they both played key roles as WSSU derailed West Texas A&M 41-18 and advanced to next Saturday’s title game against Valdosta State in Florence, Ala.

West Texas A&M, coming off a victory against No. 1 Colorado State-Pueblo in the quarterfinals — its third straight win on the road, swaggered into Bowman Gray Stadium with a quarterback that had thrown for 44 touchdowns this season and a running back who had rushed for nearly 1,500 yards.

The Buffaloes were averaging 40.1 points and hadn’t scored fewer than 24 until Saturday, when the Rams’ defense stifled them significantly.

“We got word they had been talking a lot, talking a lot of trash, and this defense knew we had to come out and step up,” Harris said. “We put in a lot of hard work this week, Coach put us in position to make plays, and it was up to us to execute. And that’s what we did.”

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