Oct. 11, 2003

Fayetteville, NC - It was billed as the match-up that everyone wanted to see, with Fayetteville State hosting the Rams of Winston-Salem State University in what many football insiders said would give the victor the right to represent the CIAA Western Division in the CIAA Football Championship in Durham, NC on November 15th.

The Rams, still sour from the four-overtime, homecoming day loss that the Broncos handed them en route to FSU's first-ever CIAA football title last season, looked to be ready to enact revenge. They forced the Bronco's high-powered offense to go three and out on the first series of the game, and after another in a long line of Brandon Hussey (So./5'9"/170/Pine Top, NC) long punt returns, the Rams looked to be in business.

However, FSU's trademark defense would hold the Rams and force a failure on fourth down and two from the seven yard line as they stopped a diving Willie Byrd (Jr./5'9"/215/Leland, NC) to regain possession of the ball.

That would energize the Broncos as they drove all the way down field and capped off a 15 play, 94-yard drive with an Amir Holding, one-yard TD run. The ensuing PAT was blocked and FSU held the 6-0 lead.

The Broncos would then force the Rams into countless third and long situations and show why they lead the CIAA in run defense, holding the WSSU running game to only two yards rushing in the first quarter of play.

The Broncos would put on a passing clinic however as FSU quarterback Duane Taylor would tally 91 yards passing in the first quarter. A late quarter drive set the Broncos up for a Ross McKernan field goal only seconds into the second quarter, and FSU would lead 9-0.

The Rams bounced back however, as Joshua McGee (Jr./6'1"/205/Winston-Salem, NC) got the Rams offense in gear and put the Rams in scoring position. McGee would find Jerad Brevard (So./6'1"/205/Charlotte, NC) for a 17 yard touchdown strike and an Ashton Oakley PAT (Sr./5'9"/175/Haw River, NC) would make it a 9-7 game.

The Rams looked to be rolling, after forcing Fayetteville State to punt, but after a 15-yard holding penalty that turned a 54 yard Brandon Free (So./5'10"/175/Oxford, NC) punt return into only a 39-yard return, Byrd would cough the ball up on a running play and allow FSU to once again drive for a score.

The Broncos, with six second remaining on the clock in the first half, nailed a 32 yard field goal attempt to take the 12-7 lead into the halftime intermission.

The third quarter would be more of the same for the Broncos. A WSSU breakdown on special teams would allow for a Daryl Bright 69 yard punt return for a touchdown to make it a 19-7 game, and drop WSSU further out of the running.

Not that WSSU didn't make a go of it, but countless Ram errors continued to pile up, and FSU would continue to be the beneficiary. Byrd would cough up the ball again for his second fumble of the evening, and the Broncos would summarily recover. A bad snap would force punter Chad Oakley (So./5'10"/170/Haw River, NC) to pounce on and smother the ball and give the Broncos a first down from the 18 yard line which they would promptly turn into another McKernan field goal. Penalties were not the issue this week, as they were in the Rams' last contest versus Virginia Union, but failure to capitalize on opportunities would see the Rams shoot themselves in the foot countless times.

If it weren't for the WSSU defense, which wasn't stellar as much as effective at containing the Broncos, FSU would have broken the game wide open, as the WSSU offense could get nothing going versus the Broncos stellar defense. The quarter would come to an end with the host Broncos holding a 22-7 lead and looking to be in complete control of the game.

The deciding factor in the fourth quarter, and in the game, would be the defense of Fayetteville State University. Except for a 49 yard touchdown by Martin Hicks (So./RB/5'7"/170/Oxford, NC) midway through the fourth-quarter the Rams' offense would be largely ineffective as the Broncos held the Rams to 266 yards of offense on 55 plays for an average of only 4.8 yards per play. The Broncos would nearly double the Rams' offensive output as they netted 440 yards of offense on 79 plays for 5.6 yards per play. That disparity would show on the scoreboard as FSU earned the 22 to 14 victory over the Rams, only their second straight victory over WSSU in Bronco history (the last being in the 1975 and 1976 seasons).

With the loss, the Rams fall to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the CIAA. Winston-

Salem State returns to action next Saturday as they are once again on the road, taking on Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC before returning home for the final three games of the 2003 season. The Broncos move to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the CIAA with the victory. They return to action next Saturday as they battle North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC in a nationally televised game on MBC.