By james art Winston-Salem State’s CIAA championship dream died a slow death Saturday afternoon at the hands of No. 19 Johnson C. Smith at Bowman Gray Stadium’s Bill Hayes Field.
The Golden Bulls’ defense dominated to a 24-15 victory over the offensively inept Rams.
It was likely a convincing win for the Golden Bulls to reach next month’s CIAA championship game. A lot needs to happen for the Rams to get to the championship game as they have two losses in the conference.
Winston-Salem State quarterback Daylin Lee throws a pass in the first half.
David Beach, specifically for the paper
“We didn’t play the way I expected us to play,” Rams coach Robert Massey said. “I’ll call it growing pains … We never got our offense going until the last two minutes of the game.”
In front of about 5,800 fans, the Golden Bulls improved to 8-0 overall for the first time in school history. They also tied the school record for single-season wins with two games remaining in the regular season and possibly the CIAA championship game.
The Rams, who lost to the Golden Bulls for the second straight time, fell to 6-3 and 4-2 in the CIAA and lost at home for the first time this season.
Johnson K. Smith quarterback Darius Ocean throws a pass in the first half.
David Beach, specifically for the paper
The Rams finished with 13 offensive possessions and most notably punted for their only touchdown on the final possession, putting the game out of reach. On their 13 possessions, they had 10 punts, a turnover, a missed field goal attempt and one touchdown when the game was decided.
“I think our quarterback (Dalin Lee) just never settled in,” Massey said of the Rams, managing just six first downs and 155 yards of offense. “I don’t know if he ever trusted the defense or whatever the case was.”
The Golden Bulls, who won exactly one CIAA title in 1969, took their first possession of the second half and extended their lead thanks to a big gamble by coach Maurice Flowers on a fourth down play. On fourth-and-14, quarterback Darius Ocean hit Kamar Edmonds out of the backfield and he finished the rest for a 27-yard touchdown reception. The point try after that was good for a 17-0 lead.
Winston-Salem State defensive back Josiah Alexander dunks the ball without fumbling in the second quarter.
David Beach, specifically for the paper
The Rams finally scored late in the third quarter when Ocean fumbled with Narike Smith, who made an interception and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. It was just Ocean’s second interception of the season.
Ocean, who will set the school’s single-season passing yardage record next week, was 23 of 38 passing for 262 yards with one touchdown.
A defensive touchdown made it 17-7 with five minutes left in the third quarter, but the Golden Bulls scored again after the Rams’ defense was on the field for a long time. A short touchdown run by Quavaris Crouch put the game out of reach.
Barry Tripp, the defensive coordinator and former WSSU linebacker, said he wasn’t surprised how well the Golden Bulls played.
“We’re built for it,” said Tripp, who played on the Rams’ historic 2012 team that went 14-1 and lost in the Division II national championship game. “We just do what we do and we’re a good football team and we have to dictate what we do defensively. We had an off time last week (in a win over Shaw) giving up over 300 yards and we weren’t going to have those breakdowns this week.”
Winston-Salem State tight end Caleb Rayner tries to get downfield after making a catch.
David Beach, specifically for the paper
The Rams had a terrible first half offensively with eight possessions and six punts for an overworked Devin Versteegen (10 punts for a 50-yard average). There was also a Rams turnover and a missed field goal as the Golden Bulls led 10-0 at halftime.
The Golden Bulls led 7-0 for most of the first half, but got a 27-yard field goal by Jacob Meneses on the final play of the half.
The Rams defense did their part to keep them in the game, but the Golden Bulls defense dominated.
In the first half, the Rams had just 34 yards of offense on two first downs as Lee had no answers.
The Rams committed a costly turnover late in the first quarter when Lee failed on a handoff attempt and the Golden Bulls made it 7-0. Edmonds scored from 6 yards out and the point-after attempt was good.
The Golden Bulls received the kickoff and drove down the field with ease, but Meneses missed a 19-yard field goal attempt.
Noble Joyner, who was squatting on the sideline after the game, looked pretty tired after the Rams spent most of the day on defense. The Rams were on the field on defense for 37 minutes.
“We wanted to be on the field,” Joyner said. “We just have to get the job done and all we have is each other.”
During the final stages of the teams’ handshake, some pushing and shoving occurred, forcing Massi and other coaches to break it up and separate the teams.
As for what comes next, Massey said they still have one game left.
The WSSU band entered for the JC Smith game on Saturday
“Now we’re hoping and waiting,” Massey said of having a long shot to reach the CIAA championship game. “Now with a week off we have to focus on getting healthy and ready to play at Fayetteville State.”
The Rams will have an open week this Saturday and close out the regular season on Nov. 9 with their home game against Fayetteville State at 1:30 p.m.
J – Kamarr Edwards 6 run (Jacob Meneses kick)
J – Meneses 27 field goal
J – Edwards 27 pass from Darius Ocean (Meneses kick)
W – Narike Smith 37-yard interception return (Gilberto Lorenzana kick)
J – Quarvaris Crouch 2 run (Meneses kick)
W – Caleb Washington 3 pass from Daylin Lee (Jaden Grimes pass from Lee)
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