Saturday, November 3, 2007

LIVINGSTONE HONORS 115 YEARS OF BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

JC SMITH EXTENDS VICTORY MARGIN WITH 47-7 WIN

Salisbury, NC – A storied history of football between Johnson C. Smith (formerly known as Biddle) and Livingstone adds another record in the books. In Salisbury, NC, where it all began, The Golden Bulls (3-7, 2-5 CIAA) remained atop of the bottom cellar with a 47-7 romping over the Blue Bears who finished out the 2007 season with a 0-10 overall and 0-7 CIAA record. During halftime with a JCSU 44-7 lead, Livingstone honored its 2007 Class of Hall of Fame Inductees and a proclamation was read in commemoration of 115 years of Black College Football. The majority of the excitement displayed on the field came after the game from the two institutions drum lines.

Johnson C. Smith scored the first points of the game at 11:45 when Joshua Smith blocked a Blue Bear punt which soared into the back of its endzone for a safety. At 10:24, JC Smith ended a five play 43-yard drive for its second score of the first quarter. Kevin Allen rushed for four yards past the goal line. Carl Richardson hurled a 16-yard pass to Jeremy Franklin for more points with 7:15 remaining in the first. Wright nailed his second extra point kick to put the Golden Bulls ahead 16-0. The scoring drive ate up 54 yards in three plays. Prior to the end of the first quarter with 3:18 remaining, Jonathan Metcalf ended a 73-yard drive with a nine-yard rush. His run was the eighth play of the series.

Metcalf scored his second touchdown of the game at 12:55 near the beginning of the second quarter. His four-yard rush capped a 10-play 67-yard drive.

Livingstone scored its only points of the game with 9:44 remaining in the half. Starting Quarterback Curtis Edens ran a quarterback sneak on the goal line for the score. Joshua Feliciano kicked the extra point. The eight-play drive consumed 80 yards in three minutes and two seconds to bring the score to 7-30.

The Golden Bulls continued to increase its lead at the 7:41 mark in the second quarter. Carl Richardson threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Franklin. Franklin finished the game with two catches for 79 yards. Regaining possession prior to intermission, Johnson C. Smith created a 44-7 cushion with a one yard rush by Kevin Allen with 20 seconds left.

The final score of the game came in the fourth quarter with 8:55 remaining by JCSU. Herbert Collins who made 3 of 3 extra-point kick attempts, pouched a 20-yard field goal attempt through the uprights for a 47-7 victory.

Johnson C. Smith accumulated 407 offensive yards to LC’s 140. The Golden Bulls maintained possession for 42 minutes while the Blue Bears had the ball for 18 minutes.