Aug. 25, 2007

Final Stats

In the season opener for the Johnson C. Smith University football team, it was the Golden Bulls (1-0, 0-0CIAA) over the visiting Edward Waters College Tigers (0-1) 24-0. The season opener shut-out was the first for JCSU since 1996 when they shutout the Benedict College Tigers 36-0. Ironically, Daryl McNeill was the head coach during that season.

JCSU won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The first quarter was a tale of three and outs. Neither team could get any offensive production going in the first quarter. On the second drive of the 2nd quarter, Jarett Grant recovered a Vishau Grissett fumble that gave JCSU the ball on their own 43 yard line. Four plays and a 33-yard touchdown pass reception from Carlton Richardson to Jeremy Franklin removed the goose egg and gave the Golden Bulls their first points of the game (7-0).

On JCSU's next drive, Smith took the ball 55 yards down the field. Herbert Collins, III converted on a 24-yard field goal to end the half, sending the Bulls into the locker room with a 10-0 advantage. Similar to the first quarter, the third quarter didn't see any players make their way to the end zone. The special teams unit made their presence felt when Steven Williams blocked a punt. Fellow team member Fred Hoskins quickly scooped up the ball and returned it 30 yards into the end zone, swelling the JCSU lead to 17-0. On the very next EWC drive, with the ball on the JCSU 13-yard line, quarterback Kamau Leitner threw the pigskin right into the hands of Garrison McCormick who returned the ball 95 yards for a touchdown.

Offensively, junior quarterback Carlton Richardson completed nine of 21 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. He did throw two interceptions on the day. Senior Marco Kirven had 16 carries for 57 yards.

The defense was stout as usual and continued their offensive ways by scoring six points off of a Garrison McCormick 95 yard interception. McCormick's return was the third longest in JCSU history. Jimmie Massenburg was the leading defender with eight total tackles (4 solo, 4 assisted), one sack for a loss of six yards, one pass break-up and two quarterback hurries. Senior Fred Williams registered seven tackles while Billy Graham had six.

"I am so proud of these guys," remarked third-year head coach Daryl McNeill. "The defense was mainstay with keeping the ball out the end zone. My hat goes off to Coach Eric Puryear and his staff for a job well done. We have got to do a better job offensively, but we are excited about the win."

JCSU will return to action on September 8, 2007 when they travel to Savannah, Ga to take on another set of Tigers. This time it will be the Championship subdivision Tigers of Savannah State University. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm at Memorial Stadium.