Postseason berth on the line at Commemorative Classic 

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

JC Smith receiver Brian Lane hauls in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Damien Mazil in the Golden Bulls' 39-33 win on Oct. 31, 2026, at McGirt Field. JCSU plays rival Livingstone Nov. 7 in Salisbury at the Commemorative Classic.

The renewal of Black college football’s oldest rivalry has larger implications for Johnson C. Smith.

Saturday’s Commemorative Classic between the Golden Bulls (7-2, 6-1 CIAA) and Livingstone (3-6, 2-5) is the last hurdle between JCSU and a second straight trip to the CIAA title game. The Blue Bears have derailed Smith’s postseason aspirations before – their 15-10 win in 2024 knocked the Golden Bulls out of the running. JCSU, which leads the all-time series 50-34-3, is taking a business-like approach.

“It’s a big game because it’s the next game,” said linebacker Vincent Hill, who played in last year’s 26-21 JCSU win. “It doesn’t matter if they’re a rival or not, we respect all opponents. We’re not going to get too high, get too low. We’re going to prepare the same and we’re going to come in ready to play.”

When Golden Bulls quarterback Damien Mazil, a graduate transfer from Wagner, arrived on campus in the summer, he was unsure what to make of the dynamic between JCSU and what coach Maurice Flowers referred to as “the school down the way.”

“I was absolutely confused for the first two weeks,” Mazil said. “I asked a couple questions about what’s going on but we’re going to take this like every other game. We’re going to prepare the same. We’re not going to do anything different. But again, the history that goes behind this game is huge, and for me, it’s something I’m excited playing.”

The series started Dec. 27, 1892, on Livingstone’s snow-swept campus. The players’ uniforms were sewn by Livingstone’s women students, their shoes improvised with nails driven through the soles and both sides pooled their money to buy the ball. Biddle University’s – today’s JCSU – team traveled to Salisbury by horse-drawn wagon. They won 5-0.

A plaque on the Livingstone campus marks the site of the inaugural game, not far from Alumni Stadium where the Blue Bears and Golden Bulls will once again tangle. Bragging rights are always on the line, but for the third straight year, there are bigger stakes.

“We’re going to keep preparing the way that we prepare,” said Flowers, a JCSU alumnus who is 2-2 as coach against Livingstone. “We’ve got a good opponent next week, it’s the Commemorative Classic, and what we know is that our work is not done. We have not secured anything to go to the championship game.”

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