The UNCP Braves Football team (3-5) won their homecoming contest 62-17 against the West Virginia State University Yellowjackets (5-3).
The Braves defense put on a clinic in this game forcing 3 fumbles (recovering 2) and scoring a touchdown off of an interception by Carlo Thompson. As a team, the Braves allowed 264 yards while gaining 589 yards of their own.
Colin Johnson had a stellar performance bouncing back after a loss last week at Fairmont State. Johnson threw for 309 yards and 4 through the air while adding 52 yards on the ground. Johnson’s rushing game has seemed to come back the past two weeks after not being able to have a positive rushing game since week one before last week.
The game started off rough for the Braves, as on their first drive of the game Johnson dropped back to pass and threw a ball that got deflected at the line and got intercepted by the WVSU defender deep in Braves territory. The Braves defense bent but did not break allowing the YellowJackets to get down to the 8 yard line, but not into the endzone, forcing a field goal giving the YellowJackets a 3-0 lead at the 9:20 mark of the first quarter.
After a Braves punt to give the YellowJackets the ball back, Carlo Thompson stepped in front of a YellowJacket reciever and intercepted a pass at the 24 yard line and took it to the house for the Braves first lead of the game. The YellowJackets responded to the Braves touchdown with an 8 play, 75 yard touchdown drive capped off by a 22 yard touchdown drive to retake the lead 10-7.
On the next drive, with the Braves at their own 39-yard line, Johnson hit Josiah Hayes on a pass over the middle at midfield. Hayes shook off a defender and rushed all the way into the endzone for a 61 yard touchdown catch and run to take back the lead 14-10 with less than a minute left in the quarter. Carlo Thompson was active again on the next drive forcing and recovering a fumble at the WVSU 25 yard line.
Two plays later, Johnson once again found Hayes over the middle who scampered his way into the endzone for his second touchdown of the game and making the score 21-10. On the ensuing drive, on third and 11 at their own 24, the WVSU QB Caleb Jantuah was sacked by Isi Etutle stripping the ball and recovering it at the Braves 15 yard line.
Four plays into the drive, JaQuan Kelly found the endzone on a four yard touchdown run, a missed PAT moved the Braves lead to 27-10. Carlo Thompson once again made his mark on the game on the next drive on a 4th and two in Brave territory, Thompson blitzed from the corner spot and sacked the YellowJackets QB causing a turnover on downs giving the Braves the ball back.
Colin Johnson once again found Josiah Hayes on a twenty yard touchdown pass giving Hayes his third touchdown of the contest and improving the lead to 34-10. Johnson was not done there as on the next drive, he was able to find Sincere Baines out of the backfield who took it to the house for a 32 yard score to make it 41-10 Braves in the second quarter. With time winding in the half, the Yellowjackets Caleb Juantuah found his target in the endzone to make it a 41-17 game. The Braves would score 21 unanswered points in the 4th Quarter to win the game 62-17 in dominant fashion.
The Braves will play West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at 1 p.m at home for more Conference Carolina play.