Carlo Thomas never had a day like Saturday.

The Johnson C. Smith free safety intercepted a school-record four passes and returned two for touchdowns in the Golden Bulls’ 37-20 CIAA Southern Division win against Fayetteville State at McGirt Field. The victory broke a four-game losing skid for JCSU, which won for the first time at home under first-year coach Kermit Blount.

“The most I ever had in a game was two,” said Thomas, who leads the conference with seven picks. “The defense played well. The line got pressure, we did our assignments and the quarterback made some bad throws.”

Thomas turned the momentum for JCSU (2-5, 1-3 CIAA), which had a 24-6 lead shaved to four points in the third quarter. His interception of Derek Bryant’s pass and return through a maze of would-be tacklers for a 43-yard score gave the Golden Bulls breathing room at 31-20 with 1 minute, 5 seconds in the third. The game-clincher was a 24-yarder in which he scored untouched and for good measure picked off Bryant in the end zone to kill a Fayetteville State (3-4, 3-1) drive late in the fourth.

“I just played good defense and went and got the ball,” Thomas said.

JCSU, which beat the Broncos for just the second time in eight meetings, got a boost from the offense, which outgained Fayetteville State 309 yards to 278 with no turnovers, a major accomplishment for the Golden Bulls, who lead the nation with 23. The efficiency of freshman quarterback Harold Herbin helped, with 214 yards total offense, including 90 rushing on 17 carries.

“It’s another dimension to my game as a dual-threat quarterback,” said Herbin, who hit 5-of-11 passes for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “I’m grateful God gave me an opportunity to run today and that’s what showed up on the field.”

Fayetteville State started strong with Bryant hitting Tavon Gatlin for a 2-yard scoring pass on the Broncos’ opening drive, but JCSU quickly responded. For the second straight week, the Golden Bulls struck on their first play from scrimmage with Herbin connecting with Roderick Carter on a 69-yard bomb to go ahead 7-6. Erik Amaya’s 29-yard field goal and a pair of Fred Scott touchdown catches from Herbin and Jordan Lane respectively provided JCSU a commanding 18-point bulge, but special teams sparked a Fayetteville State comeback.

Maleek Gorham’s 100-yard kick return and Gatlin’s 82-yard punt return rallied the Broncos to within 24-20 with 3:29 in the third, forcing the Golden Bulls to the edge of collapse. Instead of folding, JCSU responded with Thomas’ career day.

“We finally got to a point where we won the third quarter and definitely won the fourth,” JCSU coach Kermit Blount said. “Our two weakest quarters have been the second and third. We were able to overcome everything that came to us in the third quarter and came back to make plays in the fourth quarter. We feel real good about what we were able to accomplish today.”
 

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