But it may have been a junior who stole the show.
Andre Lyles (Jr., Ahoskie, NC) intercepted two passes and returned both for touchdowns on runs of 31 and 78 yards as the Fayetteville State Broncos closed their 2010 season with an emphatic 44-27 victory over Virginia State on Saturday.
It was a big day for several seniors as well. In his final game as a Bronco, Richard Medlin (Sr., Raleigh, NC) rushed for more than 100 yards in the first half and finished with 168 yards on 22 carries. CIAA leading tackler Jeremy Cunningham (Sr., Casa Grande, AZ) was all over the field, recording 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, as the Broncos closed out the season with three straight victories and four in their last five games. At 5-5, Fayetteville State (4-4 in the CIAA) finishes at .500 or better for the eighth time in head coach Kenny Phillips’ 11 seasons.
“I thought we started to play really good football when we went to Raleigh to play Shaw (on Oct. 16),” Phillips said. “Even though we came up a little short, I thought that was one of the best football games this season, and it seemed like it kick-started us into this final stretch of the football season.”
Fayetteville State took a commanding 17-0 first half lead with just under 5 minutes to go in the half when Lyles leapt into the air to pick off Cheston Hickman’s pass. Lyles made two moves in the open field, going 31 yards for the touchdown. It was Lyles’ team-high fifth interception of the season.
His sixth was even more impressive.
With Virginia Union driving and experiencing some success – the Panthers closed to within 17-7 early in the second half – Lyles put the exclamation point on the game with 8:43 to go in the fourth quarter, reaching up to snare another Heston pass, then racing through myriad defenders for 78 yards and the score for a 44-14 victory.
“That is a dream come true for anybody who plays the sport, to score two touchdowns in a game like that,” said Phillips. “He got two ‘Pick-6’s’. That’s big for him, and that’s big for us as a defensive football team.”
Lyles played Saturday with No. 20 on his wristband, a nod to senior defensive back John Hicks (Wilmington, NC), who was playing his final game as a Bronco.
“You’re always hoping for one,” said Lyles. “You never think you’re going to get two.”
Quarterback Robert Benjamin, after having a hand in six touchdowns last week, passed for two scores and rushed for another one on a 16-yard run in the third quarter. Benjamin, who completes the season with 19 touchdowns passing against just five interceptions, completed 15 of 28 passes for 130 yards on Saturday.
The Broncos dominated the first half, holding the Panthers (3-7, 3-5) to just 29 yards of total offense – Virginia Union had minus-3 yards of passing – and one first down – in the half. The Broncos, on the other hand, rolled up 225 total yards in the first half, with Medlin running 14 times for 107 yards to go with three receptions for 27 yards
Fayetteville State finished the game with 439 yards – the third straight game the Broncos have gone over the 400-yard mark – and scored five times in their six trips into the red zone. Fayetteville State rushed for 309 yards on the day.
“It’s a great way to finish the season,” said Medlin, who rushed for more than 160 yards for the third time this season. “It was special playing with these guys.”
Fayetteville State never trailed, and took its first lead with 2:41 to go in the first quarter when Benjamin rolled to the right and found Eli Sessoms (Jr., Durham, NC) alone in the end zone for a 7-yard score, making it 7-0.
At the 10:45 mark in the second quarter, the Broncos took a 10-0 lead on Austin Turner’s (Jr. San Diego, CA) 26-yard field goal.
The Panthers made a move to get back into the game following a 65-yard pass play from Hickman to Joseph Jean-Pierre to set them up at the FSU 7-yard line. Hickman capped the 99-yard drive – Lyles had downed Turner’s punt at the 1 – with a 1-yard run to make it 17-7 with 7:04 to go in the third quarter.
But the Broncos responded, answering with a 14-yard pass play from Benjamin to Sessoms less than 2 minutes later to go back ahead 24-7. Eight seconds into the fourth quarter, Benjamin scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, handing the Broncos a 31-14 lead.
Virginia Union closed within 31-14 with 12:52 left on Jerell Washington’s 5-yard scoring run, but again the Broncos regained firm control, getting a strong 12-yard run from Anthony Council (Fr., Goldsboro, NC) to make it 38-14 with 9:36 remaining. The Panthers tried to get closer, but Lyles saw to the end of that.
Jean-Pierre, who late in the fourth quarter added a 56-yard pass-and-catch from Hickman, finished with 215 yards receiving on seven catches. Hickman was 11 of 25 for 257 yards with three interceptions. Washington finished the game with 94 yards rushing on 24 carries.
It was a special day for the nine seniors, who were honored by Chancellor James A. Anderson and Director of Athletics Edward McLean before the game.
“When they’re freshmen, they don’t realize just how quickly that last game is going to come,” Phillips said. “Those guys have seen ups and downs and they got a chance to win a championship and to end the football season here on a winning note. That’s big for them, because they go out as winners.”
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