At midseason, JCSU football taps into a familiar recipe

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

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Johnson C. Smith is winning while developing chemistry.

The Golden Bulls, who are 4-1 at midseason and 3-0 in CIAA games, are in position to earn a second straight trip to the conference title game. After losing the opener to Benedict, they’ve won four straight and fine-tuning details that elevate winners. 

“There’s plenty that remains,” coach Maurice Flowers said. “[There’s] the question: is this where we expected to be? We knew we had a good football team. We knew we had talent. It was just going to be a matter of how quickly could we gel and start playing to the standard of what we know we can play here at Johnson C. Smith. … I can say we’re pleased, but no way are we even close to a finished product yet.”

Much of the improvement has come on defense, where the Golden Bulls lead the CIAA in fewest points allowed (11.8 per game), total defense (232.5 yards a game) and rush defense (101.6 yards per game). Last week’s 51-0 drubbing of Bluefield State earned them postgame pastries as a reward.

“They’re very talented and deep,” Flowers said. “They got the shutout, just very happy for them. They put that work in, and we were glad to stop and get some Krispy Kreme donuts to celebrate that donut, that shutout they got.”

The offense is putting in work too. JCSU is third in CIAA scoring (27.8 points) and yards (414.2) per game. The ground game is tops at 232.5 yards per outing, with running back Fabian Duncan leading the way (121 carries for 834 yards and eight touchdowns). 

Duncan, a North Mecklenburg High graduate, is on track to eclipse the school single-season rushing record (1,176 yards set by Ernest Williams in 1976) after churning through Bluefield State for 224 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. His backup, Kamarro Edmonds (61 carries, 361 yards and three scores) has been efficient as well.

“They push each other,” Flowers said. “These are guys that come to get better every day, they’re not guys that are running around saying, ‘Look at what I did.’ They’re guys that are walking up, ‘Well, coach, what did I miss?’ That’s how we coach them. … I just love their attitude toward getting better and helping the team.”

With five games remaining, the climb gets steeper. JCSU opens the stretch drive against Shaw (4-2, 2-2 CIAA) on Oct. 10, followed by Lincoln (1-4, 1-2) for homecoming a week later. Road trips to Bowie State (2-3, 2-1) and Livingstone (2-4, 2-3) sandwich a showdown against Virginia State (5-1, 4-0) at McGirt Field. In the CIAA, each game presents challenges, and with 60 new players on the roster, the Golden Bulls can’t afford to get too far ahead of themselves.

“Our young men know that we don’t disrespect an opponent, we don’t look past an opponent, and we want to take care of the job that’s at hand in front of us,” Flowers said. “Everything, all the goals that we have set for ourselves, we can just slowly get to them. But you can’t skip the process, and the process is taking your opponent seriously, taking the day’s work seriously, doing it at the best of your ability, and then moving on to the next day and the next opponent.”

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