After having its CIAA championship hopes dashed by a loss to Livingstone in their 2024 season finale, the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls get their redemption, beating the Blue Bears 26-21 to punch their ticket to Durham.
This marks Johnson C. Smith’s first appearance in the CIAA championship game since 1972 and just their third in school history (won its only CIAA title in 1969 before the championship game was established in 1970).
In addition, the Golden Bulls finish the regular season with a 9-1 overall record, setting a new program mark for wins in a season.
Bobby Smith was the star of the game for JCSU, finishing with a season-high 164 rushing yards on 37 attempts and a touchdown.
Smith caught fire in his final three games of the regular season, averaging 126.3 rushing yards per game (averaged 76.0 through the first seven games), and scoring four of his nine rushing touchdowns.
Freshman Quentin Williams paced the Golden Bulls’ defense with three tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks.
In the back half of the first quarter, both teams traded touchdowns within 13 seconds of each other, ending the period in a 7-7 tie.
This included a Livingstone 80-yard touchdown connection from Elijah Alexander to Davyn Reid, marking the longest play of the season for the Blue Bears’ offense.
The Golden Bulls opened up a 10-point lead in the second quarter with a pair of scores in a minute and a half stretch.
After connecting on a 40-yard field goal to break the tie, Rontay Dunbar snagged an interception on the ensuing defensive possession and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown to give JCSU a 17-7 lead.
Livingstone would trim the lead before the end of the first half, scoring on another touchdown connection between Alexander and Reid, this time going 65 yards.
The momentum transitioned to the Blue Bears’ defense to begin the second half, as E’shawn Carter gave his team their first lead of the game, returning a 20-yard pick six on the first play from scrimmage.
The game would then devolve into a defensive struggle, with the next eight offensive drives ending in punts.
That is, until the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, when Johnson C. Smith took back the lead on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kelvin Durham to Deandre Proctor to make the score 26-21.
After being forced to punt on its next offensive possession, Livingstone would get the ball back with one more chance to go ahead in the final minutes.
However, on the first play of the drive, TyQueron Hines hauled in the Golden Bulls’ third interception of the game to seal the win.
Johnson C. Smith will now advance to the CIAA championship game, where they will meet the two-time defending champion, Virginia Union.
This game will serve as a rematch of their Week four clash that saw the Panthers come away with a 28-10 victory.
Each of the last three CIAA championship games has featured teams that faced each other in the regular season.
In the last two instances, Virginia Union avenged the regular-season losses by claiming wins in the title game.
