JC Smith remains grounded for CIAA football stretch run

DONALD WATKINS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Johnson C. Smith, which shut out Shaw 52-0 last week in Durham, is tasked with handling Winston-Salem State quarterback Daylin Lee, one of the CIAA's top passers, when they meet Saturday at McGirt Field.

Johnson C. Smith is in a familiar spot. 

The Golden Bulls (6-1, 3-1 CIAA) find themselves late in the season with an opportunity to make the conference title game. With three games left on the schedule, they need to play their best football to do so. 

The Golden Bulls take on rival Winston-Salem State (4-4, 2-3 CIAA) to Saturday at McGirt Field and the Rams would love nothing more than to end JCSU’s postseason chances. J.C. Smith coach Maurice Flowers is making sure his team isn’t getting ahead of themselves.

“We've got an experienced team, and we can look no further than last season about possibly looking by someone,” he said. “We know Winston-Salem State. They want to beat Johnson C. Smith. This is a rivalry game between Winston and Johnson C. Smith. Part of the reason it’s a big rivalry is because of the distance, and the biggest alumni chapter for Winston-Salem State is in Charlotte. And now that we beat them two years in a row for the first time since 1975-76, we know they’re going to come hungry.”

On top of the rivalry and all that entails, it’s also a homecoming of sorts for Rams head coach Robert Massey. 

“He’s a Charlottean,” Flowers said. “He went to Garinger High School, so he’s coming home. He’s going to be excited. Matter of fact, we normally don’t speak during game week, but this time, he decided to break that rule and call me and ask me for some tickets, so I’m going to oblige. But we know it’s going to be a tough game, though, and we’ll be ready for it.”

WSSU quarterback Daylin Lee, who played high school football at Shelby High, has been on quite a tear since joining the Rams. Last season as a sophomore, Lee passed for 1,728 yards with 14 touchdowns. He also ran for five rushing touchdowns and 155 yards. 

“With Winston, it starts with their quarterback,” Flowers said. “Their quarterback is very good. First off, where he came from in high school, the Shelby Golden Lions. They are always in the state championship, running or in the race for it. And he's legit. He is big, strong, fast, and has a strong arm. He’s a junior, and we played against him every year. He’s gotten better every year. His receiving corps is outstanding. He’s got some good guys to throw to, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

JCSU has quite the field general themselves in Kelvin Durham, and Flowers ran out of good things to say about him. Durham, who transferred from Fort Valley State, was one of Flowers’ first recruits as Wildcats coach.

“When we were at Fort Valley State, he was a freshman and we like to help freshmen grow,” Flowers said, “and he needed some growing. When he was there, he stayed in the doghouse. I called him a Florida guy, because whenever the weather wasn't sunny, he just seemed to have a problem with the ball and then when it got this time of the year, in the fall, he didn’t practice well, because he wasn’t used to the cold weather as a young guy. 

“When we were reunited with him coming here, the first thing that stood out was just how mature he had gotten. He’d grown.”

Durham averages 246.1 passing yards per game for a total of 1,723 with 16 touchdowns to five interceptions. He also has six scores on the ground and 101 yards rushing. Flowers recalled a JCSU spring practice session when Durham’s first pass was intercepted, which the coach welcomed.

“One of his first passes when we started practicing was an interception,” Flowers said, “and I was like, that is good, because now everybody’s going to say, ‘what is he going to do now?’ And boy, he lit it up the rest of the practice, so that’s just who he is. He likes to compete. He likes to set a good example for the team. He likes to lift other players up. He’s the key to us and you want that from your quarterback. You want that from your leader, and he’s come in and done it.”

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