Hear from JCSU football head coach Maurice Flowers, linebacker Jack Smith, and quarterback Darius Ocean after the Golden Bulls’ 21-17 win over CIAA preseason favorite Virginia Union to remain the only unbeaten team in HBCU. Watch episodes of the HBCU Gameday ‘Hard Knocks’ docuseries “Brick x Brick with JCSU Football” below.
Game Breakdown
Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), one of the oldest HBCU football programs in the country, continued its remarkable season by defeating Virginia State 21-17. This victory allowed JCSU to remain undefeated at 6-0, marking its best start since winning the CIAA title in 1969. The win, achieved at the Irwin Belk Complex in Charlotte, propels the Golden Bulls to 3-0 in conference play, keeping them in prime position for another potential CIAA championship run.
| Statistics | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JCSU’s defense was a force throughout the game, with standout performances from Benari Black, who had 16 tackles, and TyQueron Hines, who grabbed one of the two key interceptions. The Golden Bulls’ ability to control the clock, holding a 31:33 to 28:27 advantage in time of possession, allowed them to outlast Virginia State’s late push.
Brick x Brick Docuseries with JCSU Football
The Charlotte, North Carolina HBCU is amid a football resurgence, and HBCU Gameday cameras have captured the turnaround at Johnson C. Smith under head coach Maurice Flowers since his first win in 2022. Season 1 of Brick x Brick showed the Golden Bulls increase their win total from two to seven games, the most at the HBCU in over a decade. Season 2 is unfolding to reveal the Golden Bulls as a CIAA championship contender, as they continue to make HBCU football history in Charlotte, NC.
The title of the latest episode, ‘Refuse to Lose’, is about a portion of the team’s mantra that appears throughout the series. After the hard-fought victory, Coach Flowers repeated the “refuse to lose” portion of the mantra a few extra times to emphasize the team’s grit in the win.
JCSU vs VA Union | Refuse to Lose
Brick x Brick SzN II FULL EPISODES