Perfect debut for Ram football: For the first time since 1991, the WSSU Rams are off to a 3-0 start

The 2010 Rams football squad, which has been re-appointed to Division II CIAA Athletics, has already turned the tide of last year's losing season.

The Rams only managed to put up a single win during their 2009-10 run.

During the offseason, the Rams underwent a number of administrative, personnel and coaching transitions. Winston-Salem State  brought in veteran coach and Fayetteville native Connell Maynor as head coach, offensive coordinator and the quarterbacks coach.

Maynor engineered  the 2009 CIAA Champion Fayetteville State University Broncos offense.

The Rams  won their  first game of the season 47-13  against conference rival Virginia Union on Aug. 28 at the A.J. Simeon Stadium in High Point.  

"People didn't expect us to win…but we did," Maynor said.

WSSU outscored the Virginia Union Panthers every quarter, and dominated nearly every aspect of the game.

Maynor used a balanced attack on offense, with his team accumulating 207 yards in the air and 186 yards rushing.    A couple of touchdowns on the ground from running  back  Nic Cooper, a junior business administration major from Clinton, N.C. helped to solidify their victory at the inaugural Furniture City Gridiron Classic.

Sept. 4, their next contest, in Greensboro, pitted the Rams against the Aggies of N.C. A&T.

The fierce rivalry, also known as the ‘I-40 Showdown,' would give WSSU an opportunity to show the world of college sports how they would fare against a Division I-AA team.

The WSSU football team did not disappoint.

In front of a near capacity crowd, the Rams displayed what Coach Maynor described as "intestinal fortitude."

"With A&T, we had to come from behind and won in the fourth quarter, and that shows that these guys aren't quitters," Maynor said.

Defensive back Alton Keaton, a junior accounting major from Fayetteville, and fullback Tyrone Goldston, a freshman accounting major from Goldsboro, turned in solid performances to aid in the Rams victory.

However, it was the efforts of quarterback Kameron Smith, sophomore economics major and a transfer from the U.S. Naval Academy that secured a win for the Rams.

Smith mustered up a 78-yard game winning drive that included a 13-yard pass, and finally a 7-yard scramble into the end zone. His scoring drive and the point after touchdown put the score at 21-14, leaving the Aggies 41 seconds to answer.

"We didn't have to win the A&T game. That's not a conference game for us," Maynor said.

"But that was big for them, for bragging rights for the student body, for the community and for Ram pride. That's what that ‘W' did."

Sept. 11, the Rams marched into the NCCU O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium  where they extended their streak to 3-0. They ousted the Eagles  34-27.

 A host of Rams displayed their physical prowess as WSSU mounted a come from behind victory that stunned yet another Division I-AA football team.

"Our goal is to get better every day, and every drill that we do, individually so that we can get better as a team so we can win games," Maynor said.

Maynor said he implements that philosophy when it comes to winning football games.

"We can't look ahead trying to go 10-0 and we're in week five.

"We gotta stay focused and take it one day at a time, one game at a time, and respect all and fear none."