In front of a packed homecoming crowd, the Winston-Salem State Rams held off St. Augustine College for a close 35-33 victory. The Rams defeated the division-leading Falcons, to leave the CIAA with a win. “We came into this homecoming game, and we wanted to take out our seniors with a win,” said senior RB Martin Hicks, who finished the game just 11 yards shy of his third straight 1,000-yard season.
Special teams and turnovers were big in the first half of the game. After going three-and-out on the first series, the Rams got the ball back when Ivan Diggs muffed the punt and the Rams recovered on the Falcon 24. Four plays later, Monte Purvis hooked up with tight end Stan Wright for a 30-yard touchdown score, going up 7-0.
The Falcons would not stay down long, as they put together a scoring drive on their own, assisted by a few Ram penalties, that resulted in a seven-yard touchdown completion from Darrell Nesbit to DeArdre Jenkins. Again, special teams came up big for the Rams, as Maurice Reed blocked the PAT and WSSU hung on to lead.
Every time it seemed as if the Falcons were poised to take the lead, the Rams stepped up and made the big play. The Falcons put together a nice drive early in the second quarter; however, that drive came to an abrupt end when out-of-nowhere freshman Deron Middleton intercepted Nesbit’s pass and returned it, taking points away from the Falcons. The Rams capitalized on that turnover as well, turning it into a 10-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown run by Jed Bines, giving the Rams a 14-6 lead with four minutes left in the half.
Once again, the Falcons put together a nice drive before Nesbit threw another pick, this time to Maurice Reed. For the third time in the half the Rams took advantage of the turnover and struck quickly on a Martin Hicks touchdown scamper going up 21-6. The Rams kicked off with 35 seconds left to play, but it only took the Falcons 10 seconds to score on a 68-yard pass to Eddi Montgomery and the Rams went into the half-time leading 21-13.
The defenses took over in the third quarter, as the Rams recorded the only score – a one-yard run by Jed Bines, his second of the day. The fourth quarter would prove to be an exciting one that kept everyone who could stomach it in their seats. After the Rams offense was held largely ineffective on two drives to start the quarter, the Falcons seemed to get the momentum moving their way when Nesbit completed his third touchdown pass of the day, finding Andre McGlone for a 22-yard strike.
With seven minutes remaining on the clock it was WSSU 28-20. After getting the ball back, the Falcons took to the air and began driving again when Middleton seemingly jumped off the sidelines, picked off Nesbit’s pass, and returned it for a 74-yard touchdown. The score gave the Rams a seemingly insurmountable 35-20 lead with 4:30 left in the game.
The Falcons were still fighting for a spot in a CIAA championship, and finally began playing like it, as they scored on another quick hitting drive to cut the lead to 35-27 with 3:12 left. The Rams failed to move the ball on their next drive, giving the Falcons life. The Falcons responded with Nesbit’s fifth touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining to cut the lead to 35-33. The game came down to the all important, two-point conversion, which would have tied the game and most likely produced overtime. Nesbit dropped back, decided to keep the ball himself, rolled around the right corner to be met by Ram defenders. Final score WSSU 35, Saint Augustine College 33.
Although the Rams defeated the Falcons, the Western Divison leaders, the teams finds itself on the outside looking in on the CIAA Championship, since it tied with North Carolina Central but lost the head-to-head match-up. Considering the tough start the Rams have had, starting the season 0-3, it’s hard not to view this season as a success. Senior wideout, Brandon Hussey said the biggest thing he’ll remember about this team is its never-say-die attitude. “These guys weren’t quitters.”