JCSU Football To Open CIAA Slate at Virginia Union
JCSU Football to Open CIAA Slate at Virginia Union
Charlotte, N.C. (Sept. 23, 2015)
– The Johnson C. Smith football team will look to rebound from last Saturday’s disappointing 37-35 road loss at Morehouse when it hits the road for the third consecutive week, this time travelling to Virginia Union to open their CIAA schedule.
JCSU (1-2) freshman quarterback Harold Herbin (Fayetteville, N.C.) is coming off a career-high 274 yard passing performance. He also threw three touchdown passes and rushed for 43 yards and one score against the Maroon Tigers. Junior receiver Fred Scott (Stone Mountain, Ga.) also had a stellar afternoon, hauling in seven passes for 108 yards with two touchdowns. Freshman running back Desean Binyard (Winston-Salem, N.C.) led the Golden Bull effort on the ground, rushing for 78 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively, JCSU got a 10-tackle performance from senior linebacker Austin Jacques (Springdale, Md.). Jacques also had one sack and two and one-half tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry. Basir Wright (Douglasville, Ga.), Travon Leake-Anderson (Richmond, Va.), and Keith Darnell (Jonesboro, Ga.) each had six tackles against Morehouse.
Virginia Union enters the game at 2-1 following a narrow 13-9 loss at FCS opponent Gardner-Webb. Virginia Union’s defense held the home standing Bulldogs to 112 rushing yards and only 26 yard passing while putting up 309 offensive yards of their own. The 138 yards allowed was the fewest by a VUU opponent since the Panthers held St. Augustine’s to 87 yards on
August 27, 2011.
After spotting Gardner-Webb a 10-0 halftime lead, the Panthers recorded a safety with 4:21 left in the third quarter when Paulin Miano tackled GWU’s Khalil Lewis in the end zone. Gardner-Webb would knock in a 40 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 13-2, but VUU would close that gap to 13-9 when Andre Coble found Olu Izegwire for a 13 yard touchdown pass that capped a seven play, 75 yard drive.
VUU would have a chance for the win, but Coble’s pass to Jerome Robinson on a fourth-and-goal play was stopped at the Gardner-Webb four yard-line. The Bulldogs then ran out the clock to preserve the 13-9 win.
VUU’s Hakeem Holland rushed 16 times for 85 yards in the loss. Shawheem Dowdy and Andre Coble split quarterbacking duties, with Dowdy registering 85 yards on a nine-for-13 effort while Coble went four-for-eight for 80 yards and one score. Izegwire led all Panther receivers by catching four passes for 61 yards and the lone VUU touchdown.
JCSU is looking to avenge the last-second loss to the Panthers in 2014. VUU’s Jussie York caught a 37 yard pass with .9 seconds remaining to stun the Golden Bulls, 27-26 at the Irwin Belk Complex.
Fans not able to make it to Richmond can tune in to AM 1450 WGNC with Dave Friedman providing play-by-play and Josh Diggs with color commentary.
Kickoff against the Panthers is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Hovey Field in Richmond, Va.