JCSU needs improvement on the road to HBCU classic

BENEDICT ATHLETICS

Benedict running back David Smith rips off a 26-yard gain in the Tigers’ 32-10 win against Johnson C. Smith on Aug. 29, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. David Smith rushed for 117 yards on 14 carries.

One game into the season and Johnson C. Smith is already dealing with stress.

The Golden Bulls’ 32-10 loss at Benedict in the season opener exposed their inability – for a game, at least – to master raised expectations. After a record-breaking 2025 that included the CIAA title and the school’s first Division II postseason berth, JCSU (0-1) is no longer an insurgent program. The Tigers, who advanced to the playoffs’ second round last year, delivered the message in every phase.

“Adversity teaches you a lot and the thing that I do know about our team – whenever we've had adversity, we rebound,” Golden Bulls coach Maurice Flowers said. “This is a great lesson for us, a good way for us to learn a whole lot [about] uncharted territory, but now we’ll understand what it’s like to be everybody’s Super Bowl.” 

JCSU struggled with mistakes both mental and physical. The defense, which has been the cornerstone through Flowers’ first four seasons, allowed 433 yards in addition to the 32 points. The offense, which returns four starting linemen and an All-CIAA receiver, struggled to sustain rhythm. Special teams missed a field goal and twice called for fair catches on kickoffs deep in their territory only to attempt a return, which is prohibited. As a result, the Golden Bulls were saddled with poor field position.

“Obviously, it’s not what we wanted in terms of the result,” said quarterback Parker McQuarrie, who completed 9-of-18 passes for 94 yards in his first collegiate start. “We’ve got to do better on offense. We’ve got to put up more points. What we always say is we take lessons when we lose. Obviously, it’s a loss, but we’ve got to learn from it, and we’re only going to get better from it.”

 

 

 

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They’ll need to. The defense, with nine new starters, was at a loss to stop Benedict’s ground attack, which churned out 199 yards on 32 carries. David Smith pounded the Golden Bulls for 117 yards on 14 tries while Caleb Pearson added 63 yards on six attempts while adding 58 receiving yards on two catches.

Equally concerning was conceding 234 yards on 12 completions, including a 97-yard touchdown connection between Jett Peddy and Zackery Watkins that expanded the Tigers’ lead to 16-0 in the second quarter.

“I know our defense is one of the best ones around,” Flowers said. “We don’t give up 32 points. We had two starters back on defense. We have very talented guys on defense. That defensive line, very talented linebackers. 

“We’re very talented, but here’s the thing: it’s all about the chemistry. You can see that the chemistry just was not there, so what helps chemistry is just playing together more. I’m not sitting here saying, ‘Dang, we’re not talented.’ We can fix these simple things right here, and we’ll get better.”  

Offensively, Smith’s ground attack was efficient with 243 yards on 44 carries. Fabian Duncan, a North Mecklenburg High alumnus and SIAC offensive player of the year last season at Allen, led the way with 148 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in his Golden Bulls debut while Kamarro Edmonds added 99 yards on 16 carries. But it wasn’t enough to keep Smith in the hunt after closing to 16-10 on Alexis Rasario-Beltran’s 42-yard field goal early in the third quarter.

The offense by design favored the run to take pressure off McQuarrie, who was sacked twice and intercepted once.

“Coach Flowers is a great head coach,” McQuarrie said. “I believe in whatever scheme he has schemed up for a game. Whether he wants to run the ball 50 times or throw 50 times, we’re going to do what he tells us to do because we believe in him. … Whatever he decides to do, we’re going to do it, and we’re going to execute to the best of our ability.”

Said Flowers: “That was by design. No way did we want to just come out and just start throwing the ball all around, plus, we said we’re going to lean on the run game, which we do. We’ve got a very strong offensive line, and I really do like our receivers. But we’d be doing our quarterback a disservice to just come out and start throwing the ball around.” 

It won’t get easier. Smith has a nonconference game Sunday against another SIAC power in Albany State at the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic in Canton, Ohio. The Rams, who lost 20-7 to Division I FCS Florida A&M last week, beat Benedict for the conference title last year and advanced to the third round of the playoffs. The Golden Bulls task is simple: solve the errors and inconsistency that doomed them against Benedict.

“It’s very obvious that when we play together – offense and defense – we’re pretty good,” Flowers said. “But now we can see [that when] just one guy doesn’t do his job, I call it taking turns syndrome, and we took a lot of turns. But when we played together in rhythm, with continuity, it was easy to see that we had flashes all night long.”

Added McQuarrie: “We’ll be ready. Obviously, we’re going to learn from (Benedict). We’ll just keep getting better and just keep moving forward. … We’re not really going to change who we are just because we lost a game.”

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