Led by a dominant defensive performance that held the Winston-Salem State offense to 70 rushing yards, Fayetteville State took down the Rams 14-6 on the road Saturday afternoon.
The Broncos improved to 8-2 on the year and 7-1 in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, while the Rams fell to 3-6 and 3-4. Fayetteville State will face Chowan University (7-3, 7-1 CIAA) in the CIAA Championship game.
Derrick Alston, Jr. led all Bronco rushers with 79 yards in the contest, picking up 6.6 yards per carry. Mekhi Fenner also added 48 yards on the ground, averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
Barry Elliott pulled in two catches for 34 yards.
Gerald Simpson led the Fayetteville State defensive effort, recording eight tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss of two yards. Kenneth Merritt added six tackles and one interception and Brian Grier had three tackles and one sack in the win.
The Broncos won the turnover battle in Saturday’s game, forcing two turnovers while coughing the ball up one time. The Fayetteville State offense did a good job keeping drives alive, converting on 41.2 percent of third-down attempts.
Defensively, Fayetteville State did an impressive job limiting the Winston-Salem State offensive attack, holding the Rams to 157 total yards. The Broncos kept Winston-Salem under 100 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing just 87 passing and 70 rushing yards.
The Broncos defense disrupted the Winston-Salem passing game on the way to pulling down two interceptions and breaking up three Rams passes.
FSU found itself down early 6-0 but fired back to grab a 7-6 lead with 12:48 left in the second quarter. The Broncos then followed with another score to expand the lead to 14-6. Neither team scored again in the game.
Courtesy: Fayetteville State Athletics
