By james art Winston-Salem State took another step toward a berth in the CIAA championship game with a 31-17 road win against Livingston on Saturday.
The Rams improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the CIAA by stopping the Blue Bears’ (5-3, 3-2) three-game winning streak. The Rams’ win also snapped the Blue Bears’ two-game winning streak in the series.
The six wins are the most since 2017, when the Rams finished the season 6-4.
“We did a better job of communicating and tackling in the second half,” Rams coach Robert Massey told WSNC radio after the game. “We can throw the ball at anyone when we choose. And we did it late, so we want to run the ball, control the clock and we did that and we got out of here with a win.”
With two minutes remaining, quarterback Daylin Lee scored on a 1-yard run to make it 31-10.
Lee was 10 of 26 passing for 182 yards with one touchdown, but had two interceptions. Running back Trevon Hester had 21 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown and seven different players caught at least one pass from Lee.
After Livingston cut the lead to seven, the WSSU defense was there. Linebacker Jashan Rankin tipped a pass that was intercepted by Dante Boulding, who returned it 28 yards for a touchdown.
The extra point attempt was good late in the third quarter and the Rams led 24-10.
With 7:21 left in the third quarter, Jason Zapata kicked a 31-yard field goal for the Blue Bears to cut the Rams’ lead to 17-7. The field goal came on a pass from Lee near midfield.
The Rams took control late in the half when Lee hit Caleb Washington in stride for a 34-yard touchdown pass. The punt attempt after that was good and with 1:52 left in the half the Rams led 17-7.
“Coming in, everybody knows our game plan, we want to run the ball,” Massey said. “Daelin can swing it, but if he needs to pass more to win games, he can. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The Rams had 311 yards of offense and the defense allowed the Blue Bears just 64 yards on 32 carries.
Kamar Kyle had eight rebounds and Justin Fleming had six. Linebacker David Eldridge had an interception.
The Blue Bears tied the game late in the first quarter when quarterback DeAngelo Alston hit Davontae DeLoach for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The punt attempt after Jason Zapta was good to tie the game at 7.
The Rams scored first when returner JahTwan Stafford had an 83-yard punt return that put them in great position. Hester scored from 1 yard out for a 7-0 lead after the extra point attempt was good by Gilberto Lorenzana.
Late in the first half Noble Joyner almost sacked Alston and Alston was forced to release the ball and it was intercepted easily by Narike Smith. The Rams went into halftime with a 17-7 lead.
The Rams will play opener Johnson C. Smith on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Bill Hayes Field at Bowman Gray Stadium. The winner of that game will get the inside track to a berth in the CIAA Championship, which will be played in Salem, Virginia on November 16.
The Golden Bulls will come to Winston-Salem on Saturday with a 7-0 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the CIAA.
The Rams are trying to reach the CIAA championship game for the first time since 2016.
“They’re a good team and we match them well, so it should be a pretty good game,” Massey said. “We’ve just got to keep getting better every week like we’ve been doing so far.”
Livingstone 7 0 3 7 — 17
W – Trevon Hester 1 run (Gilberto Lorenzana hit)
L – Davontay Deloatch 10 pass from DeAngelo Alston (Jason Zapata kick)
W – Lorenzana 35 field goal
W – Caleb Washington 34 pass from Daylin Lee (Lorentzana kick)
L – Zapata 31 field goal
W – Dante Bowlding 28-yard interception return (Lorenzana kick)
W – Lee 1 run (Lorentzana hit)
L – Nyanamukenga 2 run (Zapata strike)
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