Broncos Stampede St. Aug Falcons 43-19 on Homecoming Day
Fayetteville, NC- Fayetteville State conquered St. Augustine’s with a 43-19 clean rip last Saturday at Nick Stadium. The Broncos advance to a 5-3 season overall and maintain second place in the southern division with a 4-1 record.
The Broncos now lead the Falcons in homecoming victories 2-1 at Nick Stadium and champion a 22-11-2 record at Homecoming.
Head Coach Lawrence Kershaw and his offense took advantage of the Falcons and their inability to hold possession of the ball that resulted in 5 timely scores for Fayetteville State. The largest lead was 36-0 with 11:36 left in the 3rd quarter.
The sophomore tailback Andre Montgomery (Goldsboro, NC) lead the overall offensive assault with the first score of the game within a drive of 43 yards and 7 plays. He tallied up a total of 14 carries for 66 yards. Tavon Gatlin, the junior from Virginia Beach, VA, had four receptions in which two of those were touchdowns and totaled 50 yards. Former Utah State receiver Dwayne Lorrick (Washington, DC), who totaled four catches for 53 yards, also found the in-zone on a 23-yard pass from freshmen quarterback Derek Bryant (Carrboro, NC) who threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
Antonio Mayo responded with an attack of his own rebounding from his first PAT miss with a 33 yard field goal splitting the uprights giving Fayetteville State a 33-0 lead 7 minutes before halftime.
On the defensive end, Rueben Ortega (Anaheim, CA) snatched a nine-yard interception from the Falcons first play of the game. The junior cornerback Chris Pearson (Cove City, NC) returned the ball on his second interception of the game for 31 yards into Falcon territory for a 14-0 lead in the first half.
Fayetteville State only allowed St. Augustine’s 232 yards of offense on 73 total plays. The Falcons were even pressured on kickoffs to gain a mere 26.5 yards per kickoff while the Broncos averaged 60 yards. St. Augustine’s struggled mainly with holding on the ball; they fumbled six times where four of those fumbles were recovered by Fayetteville State. The Falcons responded with three late scoring drives later in the game with the first being an 11-yard run in the 3rd quarter. However, the Bronco’s defensive halted the Falcon offensive to barely gain 18 plays and 45 yards between the 3rd and 4th quarter.
Fayetteville State will meet Livingstone in Salisbury on their homecoming day; the game will begin at 2pm.
Story by: Aaron Williams
Photos courtesy of: Nicholas Campbell
