The Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls took their role as homecoming spoiler to a whole new level, marching into Raleigh and leaving with a 52-0 shutout win over the Shaw Bears.
This marks Johnson C. Smith’s first shutout win since 2011 (beat Livingstone 31-0) and the second shutout win in the career of head coach Maurice Flowers.
The Golden Bulls’ defense’s constant pressure stood out as a key factor in the win, producing a league-high nine sacks, with three players recording 2.0 sacks.
Chief among them was defensive lineman Kevin Haynes Jr., who, in addition to his 2.0 sacks, also posted 4.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
Meanwhile, Kelvin Durham led the way on offense, throwing for 281 yards and scoring four total touchdowns.
Freshman receiver Brian Lane caught four passes for 146 yards and a touchdown, while Deandre Proctor caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
After being forced to punt on their first two drives, the Golden Bulls’ offense got going thanks to an error by Shaw’s punting unit, in which the snap soared over the punter and was downed at the one-yard line.
Durham would take advantage of the miscue, running a QB keeper for the first points of the game, beginning a stretch of four straight TD drives for Johnson C. Smith.
The onslaught continued to begin the second half when Isaiah Perry returned the Golden Bulls’ only kickoff return 90 yards for a touchdown.
The defense got in on the scoring when Haynes recovered a strip sack and returned it to the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown.
Johnson C. Smith put an exclamation point on the game with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Durham to Proctor, capping a 24-point third quarter.
The Golden Bulls improve to 3-1 against the CIAA with the win, keeping themselves within arm’s reach of a CIAA championship berth.
They currently trail Fayetteville State and Virginia Union, each sporting identical 4-0 conference records with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Johnson C. Smith’s fight to stay in the conference title picture will return home to Charlotte when it hosts Winston-Salem State.