Maybe Next Year

Homecoming was one that ended with a sour taste in the mouths of the Winston-Salem State University Rams football team as the Broncos of Fayetteville State University handed them a 21-14 loss in front of a capacity crowd of over 18,000 fans at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC. It did not take the visiting Broncos long to get on the board as they scored their first defensive touchdown of the season only five minutes into the contest as they blocked a Chad Oakley (Jr./Haw River, NC) punt which James Walker returned 18-yards for a touchdown to give the Broncos an early 7-0 lead. It would take the Rams 11:37 of playing time to record the equalizer as Jed Bines (So./Winston-Salem, NC) rumbled into the Bronco endzone from eight-yards out to cap an eight-play, 58-yard drive. Matt Hind then successfully kicked his first extra point in three games to tie the game at 7-7. The two teams went to the halftime intermission tied at 7-7 and fans in the stands were immediately reminded of the 2002 contest between the Rams and Broncos that went to the half at 7-7 and ultimately wound up needing four overtimes to decide the outcome. The second half of play saw the two teams score third-quarter touchdowns only one minute and 14 seconds apart as Nick Green used a nine yard power run up the middle for the Broncos and Brandon Free (Sr./Oxford, NC) snared a 30-yard pass from Josh McGee (Sr./Winston-Salem, NC) for the Rams. However, it was not in the cards for the Rams at homecoming as the Broncos earned their third straight win over WSSU. The Broncos, one of the CIAA’s hottest teams, and back-to-back defending conference champions used yet another big play to win a game when, for the second straight week, the Broncos used a 56-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Autry to wideout Nick Green to earn a victory. WSSU saw a fourth quarter drive stall deep in Bronco territory as the Rams attempted to tie the game, and Fayetteville State would escape Winston-Salem with the win. The Rams were not without bright spots in the contest however as they recorded two running backs with over 100 yards rushing as Martin Hicks (Jr./Oxford, NC) tallied 170 yards on 19 carries and Jed Bines earned 110 yards on 25 carries. Unfortunately for the Rams, they have not been successful this season when two players rush for over 100-yards as they fell to 1-3 on the year when doing so. With the loss, the Rams fell to 1-5 for the first time since the 1975 season, a year in which they went 1-9. The loss also dropped the Rams to 1-2 in the CIAA. The Broncos improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the CIAA.