Fayetteville State Wins First Game of 2023 Season
posted by Trever Lloyd | September 18, 2023 | In News, SportsThe Broncos got their first win of the season September 16 against the Lincoln University Lions in a nail-bitter that came down to the wire.
Last year’s CIAA championship team dropped their first two games of the season against University of North Carolina, Pembroke and Lenoir-Rhyne University, and came into this game with the mindset of getting back on track.
The Lions got the ball first, and moved the ball well their first in possession. However, the Broncos’ defense buckled-down and sent the message to the Lions that nothing would come easy today. On second and five at the Bronco’s 44-yard line, senior Dylan Morris came down from his safety position and tipped a pass from Lions quarterback Isaiah Freeman that dropped into the hands of FSU’s Kolby Merritt for an interception.
The Broncos’ offense started their drive with a bang with Demari Daniels completing a 33-yard bomb to Treveran Goode the transfer from University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Five plays later, the drive stalled and ended with a missed field goal by Jacob Meneses that gave the Lions back the ball at their 28-yard line.
From there, the Lions couldn’t get much going and punted the ball to the Broncos after 6 plays. FSU then had a ten-play drive that was capped off by a 32-yard field goal by Meneses, which would give the Broncos a 3-0 lead with 2:50 left in the first quarter.
From there, both teams would struggle to gain much traction on the offensive side of the ball with neither team being able to score again until 11 seconds left in second quarter with Syheam McQueen powered forward for a one-yard touchdown. With that, FSU carried a 9-0 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Lincoln applied some pressure to Fayetteville on both sides of the ball. On defense, Lincoln forced a quick three and out, and once they got the ball, drove down the field 91 yards with Freeman rushing for a one-yard touchdown after he found wide-out Malachi Langley for a 75-yard completion closing the gap to a 7-9 ball game.
At this point, Lincoln’s offense got more and more deadly, especially in the passing game, with Freeman completing another play on the Lions’ next drive, this time finding Dah’mear Triplett for a 54-yard touchdown that put the score at 14-9.
The Lions’ next score would come with 5:24 left in the game. The Broncos were not done, though, as less than a minute later FSU marched down the field led by junior Joe Owens. He found receiver David Baros on a slant that went for 46 yards, cutting Lincoln’s led to two (15-17).
FSU would elect to go for two with a pass to Barry Elliot, who tied the game at 17 all with 4:32 left in the game. The Bronco defense then showed up at just the right moment forcing a three and out, getting the ball back to the Broncos offense with 2:51 left in the game. Owens then led the Broncos downfield into field-goal range, milking the clock down to five seconds left in the game at the 22-yard line. Meneses drilled the field goal down the middle as time expired giving Fayetteville their first win of the year.
The Broncos next game is against Virginia Union University where they will try and build off this win.
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