JCSU football ‘just got back to basics’ for winning formula 

ZOE FARSON | PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

Johnson C. Smith quarterback Damien Mazil (11) celebrates Fabian Dunca’sn (1) 2-yard touchdown run in the Golden Bulls’ 27-7 win against Albany State in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic Sept. 6, 2026, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. JCSU improved to 1-1 while the Golden Rams fell to 0-2.

Johnson C. Smith needed a reminder of what winning football looks like.

The Golden Bulls’ 27-7 win against Albany State Sept. 6 at the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic in Canton, Ohio, was nothing like their season-opening loss at Benedict in which they were inconsistent and error-prone. This time out, they leaned into the identity that made them a preseason top 25 team in Division II. 

“That wasn’t the Johnson C. Smith team that we were used to seeing” the week before,” coach Maurice Flowers said. “Sixty new football players, 10 new starters on defense, and then offensively … good quarterback play is going to determine how the offense goes, really, and how the team goes. “We just got back to basics.”

Cleaning up the fundamentals was enough for the Golden Bulls (1-1) to dominate Albany State (0-2), which opened its season with a 20-7 loss at FCS Florida A&M. Offensively, the ground attack paced by Fabian Duncan’s 141 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carriers was complemented by Damien Mazil’s 12-of-18 passing for 184 yards in his first JCSU start. 

Smith’s defense limited the Rams to 227 yards, including 79 on the ground. Even special teams, whose mistakes saddled the Golden Bulls with poor field position a week earlier, were drama-free.

“We looked at film, and it wasn’t necessarily the Benedict game,” Flowers said. “It was, but it wasn’t. We looked at Johnson C. Smith playing good football from the last three years, and then we looked at some of the Benedict game. Those two teams did not look alike, so it was just get back to the standard and just playing how we play, and that was really it. 

“We didn’t look at a whole bunch of film on Albany State. We really had the mindset of fix us, and we’re preparing for Albany State.”

Defensively, Smith forced four turnovers (three interceptions) and a pair of sacks while holding Albany State scoreless before a 23-yard pass from Vinson Berry to Jaquan Graham with 2:05 left. All-CIAA linebacker Vincent Hill paced the Golden Bulls with nine tackles and a forced fumble while defensive end DeAndre Martin, a Charlotte transfer, tallied six tackles (1.5 for loss) and a pair of quarterback hurries.  

“We know that in ‘23 [JCSU’s defense was] No. 1 in D2, ‘24 No. 6 in D2, and last year a top 10 defense and we were far from that in our first ball game,” Flowers said. “We don’t make excuses in our program – it’s either you get it done or you don’t get it done and that’s what happened in game one. We didn’t get it done and really it was just all fundamentals.”

Duncan, a North Mecklenburg High graduate who transferred from Allen after earning SIAC offensive player of the year in 2025, backed up his 148 rushing yards against Benedict with a similar effort against Albany State. The highlight was a season-long 40-yard gallop off left tackle to push JCSU’s lead to 27-0 barely two minutes into the second half. 

“He’s a workaholic,” Flowers said. “He brings it every day to practice. He brings it every day in the weight room. He brings it in meetings. He just comes to bring maximum effort at everything that he does on and off the field. That’s why he’s fit our culture so well. He brings it, and the thing I like is that right now he’s not carrying the ball a lot.”

With Duncan (292 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries in two games) paired with Kamarro Edmonds (145 yards on 31 tries), the Golden Bulls have enough productive depth at running back to hold out All-CIAA Bobby Smith (shoulder).

Mazil’s promotion to starting quarterback was unexpected, but successful. The Wagner transfer was efficient – Mazil connected on seven straight passes after opening 1-for-3 – while hitting five different receivers. Flowers said Mazil and Parker McQuarrie, who was limited by a calf injury in practice and played sparingly late against Albany State, will continue to share playing time.

“You’ve heard me say we didn't have one starter; we have two starters,” Flowers said. “[Albany State] was just proof of it. Damian Mazil was a guy that started games at Wagner. … He played against Army. He played against Navy. That’s a pretty big stage when you play those schools right there and so he just stepped in and really led the offense very efficiently.”

Next up for Smith is another road game – this time at Winston-Salem State in the CIAA opener for both teams. The Golden Bulls are looking to extend their three-game win streak against the Rams – JCSU’s best run against WSSU since a nine-game roll from 1962-70. After breaking even against nonconference opponents, Saturday’s test kicks off the race for CIAA title game berths.

“There’s been some folks up in Winston that say this isn’t a rivalry,” Flowers said. “Well, OK, it’s not a rivalry for you, but it’s dang sure one for us. Glad to say that we won three in a row and … we’re going for four – there’s no secret about that. 

“We want to beat Winston-Salem State, and more important than that, we start conference play. It’s not about being the defending champs or anything like that, but we know how important conference play is.”   

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