Fayetteville State Secures Trip to the CIAA Championships with a 23-22 win over WSSU

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina – Fayetteville State University has inserted another historical note in the record books during its Sesquicentennial Celebration. The Broncos defeated Winston-Salem State 23-22 in Bowman Gray Stadium to take the CIAA Southern Division Title and a trip to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship game.

In another nail-biter, Darnell Walker (Charlotte, NC) crossed the goal line from one-yard out with 30 seconds remaining to tie the game at 22. David Lamb, who stayed calm and collected during the Rams timeout, kicked his third game-winner to send FSU to the championship game.

Tyeous Sharpe (Winston-Salem, NC) set the drive up with a 36-yard punt return to the Rams two-yard line. A holding penalty backed the ball up to WSSU’s 20-yard line.

Stevie Green led the offense with 129 yards; 56 rushing and 73 receiving. He scored the first points of the game, during the opening drive, with a 41-yard pass from Richard Latimer (Charlotte, NC).

Winston-Salem State returned the favor with an 8-yard run by Jahi Linebarger, but the point-after-kick by Davon Goble failed. The Rams led 12-7 at halftime after Daniel Rivera kicked two field goals from 37 and 25 yards out.

After intermission, WSSU tacked on ten (10) more points for a 22-7 lead with a 9-yard run by Linebarger and another field goal by Rivera (33 yards).

With 2:10 left in the third quarter, Brandon Smith (Red Springs, NC) put the Broncos back in the game with an 89-yard kickoff return. The extra-point kick was blocked, which set the score at 13-22. Later in the fourth quarter, Lamb nailed a 44-yard field goal at the 9:51 mark to inch closer at 16-22.

With a little over five minutes left in the game, Lamb punted the ball 51 yards to the Rams 9-yard line. The Bronco defense pinned the Rams on their one-yard line, which had them facing a 4th-and-17. That is when Sharpe had his big return.

The final drive of the game started with 24 seconds left on the clock. On 2nd-and-3, Rod Tinsley threw a 47-yard strike to Quincy Jackson, who streaked down the Rams sideline, and was tackled at the Broncos one-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by WSSU backed the ball up to the FSU 16-yard line. WSSU downed the ball on the FSU 19-yard hash mark. With four seconds left in the game, Rivera pushed a 36-yard field goal wide right.

For the first time since 2004, FSU has defeated Winston-Salem State.

Fayetteville State will face Virginia State University in the Salem, Virginia for the CIAA Title.

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