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Aug. 26, 2007
Fayetteville, NC - The Broncos fell short of a victory on Saturday afternoon at D.T. Carter Stadium against the Wingate Bulldogs, 34-26. This game was the season opener for both teams. D.T. Carter Stadium (located on the campus of E.E. Smith High School) hosted the contest due to the artificial turf installation currently taking place at Fayetteville State University. Senior place-kicker Eric Lamoureux opened the scoring with a school record 50-yard field goal in the first quarter, passing former record holder Darrell "Sky" Armstrong. Lamoureux converted four out of five field goals throughout the game. Wingate responded quickly to the score. Wingate, Junior Kameron Kranz returned the corresponding kickoff for 50 yards to the Broncos' 48 yard line. The Bulldogs would cap the 48 yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kranz, who finished with three receptions, one TD, and 268 all-purpose yards; including 166 yards from five kick returns. The Broncos bounced back with a 48 yards kickoff return by senior, receiver Daryl Barnett to the Bulldogs' 42 yard line. The first quarter would come to an end with Wingate having a slight advantage over the Broncos, 7-3. Bryan Hardy started his first game as the Broncos' quarterback. The South Carolina State transfer led FSU down the field completing three of four pass attempts and rushing for five yards. FSU would regain the lead 10-7; after sophomore, running back Richard Medlin made a three yard dash to the end zone. Medlin led the Broncos' in rushing yardage, accounting for 93 yards of the team's total 126.
The next few possessions led to field goals from each team, and the score at halftime had the Broncos' up 13-10 over the Bulldogs. In the third, Lamoureux sent two field goals through the uprights, but the Bulldogs' managed to score two touchdowns. The first was a 15-yard touchdown rush from the Bulldogs, redshirt freshman Nelson Woods. Woods finished the contest with 114 yards on 21 attempts and two touchdowns. The second Wingate TD came in the form of a 24-yard pass from JD Moore to Chris Conklin. Moore completed 15 of his 27 pass attempts for 236 yards and two touchdowns throughout the game. Going into the fourth quarter the Broncos' were down 24-19. The drive following a made Wingate field goal, Bryan Hardy was injured after being sacked for an eight yard loss. Hardy would walk off the field, but freshman, quarterback Ben Williams would replace him. Williams was sacked on the next play resulting in a seven yard loss and the Broncos' would punt. Woods ended Wingate's next drive scoring his second touchdown of the night and putting the Bulldogs' up 34-19 with 6:32 remaining. FSU continued to fight; Williams went two of four in pass completions on the next drive before an 18-yard scramble for a touchdown with 5:25 to play. The Broncos would get the ball back with 2:58 remaining and down 34-26. FSU got down to the Wingate five-yard line, but on a fourth and goal, Williams attempted a pass to Barrett in the end zone that was ruled out of bounds and the Broncos' could not convert. Both offenses put up impressive numbers; Wingate compiled 377 yards of total offense and the Broncos' finished with 375 yards. The Broncos must shake off the lost and travel to Durham, NC to take on former CIAA rival North Carolina Central University. The contest will take place on Saturday, September 2nd at 4:00 pm. |
