‘We’ll be back’: Fayetteville State football’s CIAA championship repeat bid falls short
SALEM - Fayetteville State football failed to repeat as CIAA champions, falling to Virginia Union 21-10 in Saturday’s title bout.
The Broncos (8-3) got punched in the mouth on the first possession by Virginia Union's offense, giving up a 14-play drive for 75 yards that led to a 1-yard touchdown run by the Panthers’ (10-1) all-conference back Jada Byers — his first of two scores.
However, the defense wasn't the issue for the Broncos, despite giving up 21 points — 14 of those coming in the first half.
Fayetteville State ended the first quarter with just 15 yards of offense, two first downs and only one pass completion.
"It's no secret that we've struggled on offense all year," coach Richard Hayes said post-game. "We lost our starter, and Demari was banged up coming into the game, along with our third-stringer, but we won't make any excuses because we'll be back."
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Early in the second quarter, already struggling on the offensive end, the Broncos lost their starting quarterback Joe Owens to a lower leg injury. Sophomore backup Demari Daniels played behind center for the remainder of the game.
A breath of life for the Broncos finally came when graduate receiver Barry Elliott took a kick return to the Fayetteville State end zone for a 92-yard score, the sole touchdown for the Broncos in the game.
The Broncos showed signs of life early in the third quarter, with Daniels and receiver Kameron King connecting for 64 yards on a play to set up at the goal line, eventually having to settle for a field goal and their last score on the night.
"I thought we had momentum on our side coming out of the second quarter, Hayes said. “We should have scored a touchdown and not just a field goal, but hats off to Virginia Union for their great defense.”
Daniels ended the night with 5-for-12 completions and 89 yards, while King finished with three receptions and 84 yards.
"We have sort of a funny offense,” Hayes said. “We usually take what the defense will give us, depending on the quarterback's decision-making.”
Shi Gaskin and Elijah Casey for the Broncos held their own on the defensive line, concluding with 11 tackles for Casey and nine total tackles for Gaskin, the pair had two sacks each.
This CIAA title game was Fayetteville State's sixth consecutive Salem Stadium visit, but it has only won one title during that span, in 2022. "I don't care what anybody says, it's hard to go to six straight championship bouts — yeah we've lost five of those games, but there are 10 other teams that haven't been here since I've coached in Fayetteville," Hayes, who has been on the sidelines for 13 of the last 14 CIAA championships as defensive coordinator at Winston-Salem State and head coach at FSU, said. “We're going to continue to make going to the championship game our goal every single year."
After the loss, the Broncos will wait on a postseason-deciding call that will determine if they will make a trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs or if the championship game was their last of the season.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: CIAA football championship Fayetteville state vs Virginia Union 2023
