After losing CIAA debut, Johnson C. Smith has work to do

MATT LACZKO | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith quarterback Kelvin Durham completed 20--of-35 passes for 193 yards in the Golden Bulls' 28-10 loss at Virginia Union on Sept. 20, 2025.

Homecoming is get-right time for Johnson C. Smith football.

The Golden Bulls, who lost 28-10 at Virginia Union Saturday, struggled against the more physical Panthers, who established control of both lines and as a result were able to dictate terms of engagement. Sept. 27’s opponent, Bluefield State (1-2), isn’t in No. 22 Virginia Union’s league in terms of talent, which gives the No. 21 Golden Bulls (3-1, 0-1 CIAA) an opportunity to even their conference record. 

The Big Blue, which lost 72-7 to Wingate last week in a nonconference game, average 9.8 points per game while allowing 41.8. Bluefield State generates an average of 223.4 yards an outing compared to 423.1 for opponents.

JCSU averages 31.3 points per game. 

Virginia Union, coming off a 41-38 overtime loss to Edward Waters the previous week, leaned into its personality against Smith: defense and a bruising ground attack. The results were evident as the Panthers controlled both sides of the line while JCSU struggled to match their physicality.  

JCSU couldn’t keep pace in completing drives, which cost them on the scoreboard. The Golden Bulls were 2-of-4 in red zone efficiency, but only one possession ended with a touchdown. Virginia Union, on the other hand, turned all four opportunities into Curtis Allen touchdown runs. 

The most glaring issue for Smith was their run defense, which Virginia Union gashed for 200 yards on 38 carries – the fourth-most against a Maurice Flowers-coached team.  Chowan (251 yards), Bluefield State (203 yards) and Livingstone (204) each broke the 200-yard barrier in 2022, Flowers’ debut season. The Panthers managed only 40 yards last year in a 20-16 loss in Charlotte. 

Allen did most of the damage with 108 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries while quarterback R.J. Rosales added 63 on nine attempts. At an average of 5.3 yards per carry, VUU controlled momentum although JCSU maintained possession for 31 minutes, 48 seconds.

Virginia Union led 14-10 at intermission and outscored the Golden Bulls 14-0 in the second half to salt away their most impressive win of the season.

Not very clean

VUU got the better of Smith’s special teams. Zyaire Tart ripped off a 61-yard kick return to open the game and added a 40-yard punt to set up a third-quarter touchdown.

Excessive penalties again plagued JCSU with the Golden Bulls flagged 11 times for 101 yards compared to 10 for 66 yards for Virginia Union. Four games in, it’s indicative of a larger issue for JCSU, who went over 100 yards in penalties for the second time this season.

Defensively, Virginia Union turned Golden Bulls quarterback Kelvin Durham pedestrian and as a result, so was the offense. Durham completed 20-of-35 passes for 193 yards but didn’t look very comfortable in the second half as VUU turned up the pressure. He scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter to force a 7-7 tie but spent most of the game trying to avoid VUU’s pass rush, which sacked him four times.  He also tossed a second-quarter interception in Panthers’ territory to kill a drive. 

Worth the wait

The best news for JCSU was the return of receiver Brevin Caldwell, who missed the first three games for an undisclosed reason. The two-time All-CIAA pick caught eight passes for 94 yards with a long of 24 yards. Biggie Proctor added 75 yards on seven catches.

The linebacker duo of Vincent Hill and Quavaris Crouch, had their most productive outing of the season with 16 tackles combined. Crouch added a pair of sacks to go with his seven tackles while Hill chipped in nine stops. Defensive end Jalen Alexander continued his strong start with a forced fumble to go with four tackles.

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