The inaugural Florida Beach Bowl is in the books and the SIAC’s Fort Valley State took home the crowd, defeating the CIAA’s Johnson C. Smith.
Fort Valley State led the game from start to finish, coming away with 23-10 win behind MVP Kelvin Durham on Wednesday night in the first iteration of the Florida Beach Bowl.
The Wildcats scored on their opening drive, spanning 75 yards on 12 plays, capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Brandon Marshall. They would score again on a nine yard touchdown pass from Durham to Marshall to take a 16-0 advantage into halftime.
Smith struck first in the second half with a field goal, but Fort Valley State answered with a big play as Durham hit Jaren Lawson for a pass that went 84 yards to give FVSU a 23-3 lead. JCSU would add a touchdown, but couldn’t get it any closer.
The Fort Valley State defense was dominant as it held J.C. Smith to only 150 yards of total offense on 60 offensive plays.
Fort Valley State finished the season 8-3. It improved to 16-5 under head coach Shawn Gibbs, who took over for Maurice Flowers when he left FVSU after two seasons to take the job at his alma mater. Johnson C. Smith finished the season 7-4.