FORT VALLEY, Ga. – After a festive week at home, the Wildcats head back on the road for two weeks. Fort Valley State renews its football series against South Carolina State.
For the first time in 60 years, FVSU faces South Carolina State with this weekend being in Orangeburg, S.C.
--------------
FVSU (4-2/4-1 SIAC) at South Carolina State (3-2)
Sat., Oct. 19, 2 p.m.
Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, Orangeburg, S.C.
Tickets
ESPN+
FVSU Stats
SC State Stats
--------------
FVSU vs. SC State – 18th Meeting
After a 60-year hiatus, the Wildcats and Bulldogs will again meet on the Saturday gridiron.
South Carolina State won the last meeting by a 26-8 final back in the 1964 fall season. FVSU lost the last four games before it played a scoreless tie, 0-0, in 1960. The Wildcats won both the 1957 (9-6) and 1950 (6-0) contests.
Overall, South Carolina State holds a 14-2-1 lead in the first 17 meetings from 1941-64.
1941 – SC State 22, FVSU 0
1946 – SC State 41, FVSU 0
1950 – FVSU 6, SC State 0
1951 – SC State 25, FVSU 8
1952 – SC State 10, FVSU 0
1953 – SC State 23, FVSU 0
1954 – SC State 26, FVSU 0
1955 – SC State 21, FVSU 6
1956 – SC State 13, FVSU 7
1957 – FVSU 9, SC State 6
1958 – SC State 20, FVSU 6
1959 – SC State 20, FVSU 0
1960 – FVSU 0, SC State 0
1961 – SC State 19, FVSU 6
1962 – SC State 13, FVSU 6
1963 – SC State 35, FVSU 26
1964 – SC State 26, FVSU 8
FVSU Game 7 Split in Last Four
The seventh game of the season over the last four seasons have seen a split in Wildcat results. FVSU fell at SIAC champion Benedict College (48-6) last October, before it went 2-1 in three meetings with Morehouse College (2022: W, 56-28; 2021: L, 51-3; 2019: W, 37-21).
FVSU Stands at No. 6 in HBCU D2 Coaches Poll
HBCU Football D2 Coaches Poll: JCSU No. 1 for second straight week
D2 Poll Week 7 notes:
-
Johnson C. Smith is a unanimous No. 1 selection for the second straight week
-
The Winston-Salem State Rams defeated Shaw in an important CIAA matchup and moved up two spots from last week to No. 4
-
Despite falling to Miles in an important SIAC showdown, Albany State remained No. 9; Miles moved up a spot from last week to No. 7
-
Livingstone defeated Fayetteville State for its third straight win and moved into the poll for the first time this year at No. 10; FSU dropped out of the poll
In its third year, the HBCU Division II Coaches Poll is administered by BOXTOROW, and is voted on by the HBCU NCAA Division II coaches.
2024 HBCU Division II Coaches Poll powered by BOXTOROW
Week 7
(Records through October 12, 2024)
|
No.
|
Team
|
W-L
|
Pts
|
Last Week
|
|
1
|
Johnson C. Smith (20)
|
6-0
|
200
|
1
|
|
2
|
Virginia Union
|
4-2
|
168
|
2
|
|
3
|
Clark Atlanta
|
5-1-1
|
152
|
3
|
|
4
|
Winston-Salem State
|
5-2
|
110
|
6
|
|
5
|
West Virginia State
|
5-1
|
104
|
5
|
|
6
|
Fort Valley State
|
4-2
|
103
|
4
|
|
7
|
Miles
|
4-2
|
85
|
8
|
|
8
|
Virginia State
|
3-3
|
45
|
10
|
|
9
|
Albany State
|
3-3
|
38
|
9
|
|
10
|
Livingstone
|
5-2
|
31
|
NR
|
Others receiving: Fayetteville State (3-3) 19, Tuskegee (3-3) 13, Shaw (4-3) 12, Savannah State (3-3) 7, Edward Waters (1-5) 2, Lane (1-5) 1.
(1st place votes in parentheses)
Durham and Bell Take SIAC Weekly Honors
ATLANTA, Ga. – As part of a five second quarter, the Wildcats duo accounted for four of them. Fort Valley State's Kelvin Durham and Dejuan Bell took two of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference weekly awards as the Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Week.
Trailing 13-0 against Allen last Saturday after the first play of the second quarter, Bell took the ensuing kick off and returned it 95 yards for the touchdown to start the five-touchdown frame over a 14:42 period of game time. After a Brandon Marshall rushing plunge was the second score, Durham threw a 25-yard pass to JT Pendleton, ran a 9-yard option in himself and then found TJ Miles, Jr., from three yards to flip the game for a 35-13 lead of the eventual 49-40 win over Allen.
On the afternoon, Durham completed 13 of 19 pass attempts for 182 yards and four touchdowns of 25, 3, 44 and 7 yards. He also ran three times for 11 yards and the nine-yard score. Durham's most important run was the 7-yard scramble for the game-clinching first down to allow FVSU to run out the clock. He totaled 193 total yards of offense with five scores.
Along with the 95-yard kick-off return for the touchdown, Bell posted another 200-plus all-purpose yard game with 212 total. His lone punt return covered 29 yards and set up the Wildcats' final score of the second quarter as it gave his team the ball on the Yellow Jacket 36-yardline to start the drive. The senior totaled 144 yards of kick-return yards on three chances, the one 29-yard punt return, a rush for three yards and pulled in two passes for 33 yards.
Over the opening six FVSU (4-2/4-1 SIAC) games, Durham has completed 64.4% of his passes (96 of 149) for 1,358 yards with 15 touchdowns to four interceptions. He averages 226.3 passing yards per game, rushed for another 16 yards and two scores for a total offense yardage numbers of 1,374.
For Bell, the Wildcat returner has 271 punt returns yards on 12 chances with two touchdowns, while he has amassed 276 yards on nine kick returns with the one score. He also had rushed three times for 18 yards and caught 14 passes for 236 yards and two more touchdowns. Bell has 801 all-purpose yards on 38 touches of the ball for an average of 21.1 yards per touch and 133.5 yards per contest.
FVSU Last Weekend: Wildcats Ride Five-Score Second, Fend off Yellow Jackets
FORT VALLEY, Ga. – The Wildcats sent everyone home happy from Homecoming in The Valley Saturday afternoon. Fort Valley State used a full bag of tricks and rode five second-quarter touchdowns, before it fended off pesky Allen University, 49-40, in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football action.
Trailing 13-0 in the first 15:05, DeJuan Bell continued to shine and turned the game's momentum with a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown and the home team's first points. The Wildcats added a Jaylen Brown interception after the Bell return, a fumble recovery, a blocked punt and a Bell 29-yard punt return were all cashed in for ensuing touchdowns for a 35-13 turnaround in only 14:42.
Allen, though, did not go away in the second 30 minutes and outscored FVSU, 27-14. The Wildcats found the end zone in each of the final two quarters and sealed the close final with a final first down to run out the clock.
With the victory, FVSU continued its success in the series against Allen with a fourth-straight victory. The Wildcats are now 4-2 overall and 4-1 in the SIAC, while Allen is 1-5 and 0-5 in the SIAC.
The Yellow Jackets surprisingly outgained the Wildcats on the day, 449-285, and possessed the ball for almost an entire quarter more (36:17 to 23:43). FVSU did take advantage of two visitor turnovers and blocking the team's fourth opponents' punt of the year.
Brandon Marshall carried the ball 19 times for 82 yards with 3-yard scoring plunge and pulled in two passes for 44 yards. Kelvin Durham completed 13 of 19 passes for 182 yards and four scores of 25, 3, 44 and 7 yards, while he also ran in for a 9-yard option touchdown.
Gentry Sparks caught three passes for 51 yards with scoring grabs of 44 and seven yards. He also had two carries for four yards. JT Pendleton hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass and TJ Miles caught his first collegiate pass of a 3-yard touchdown variety. Triston Morgan blocked his third punt of the year and rushed one time for three yards.
Bell didn't quite equal his all-purpose yard total from last weekend, but the senior still totaled 212 yards. He returned three kick-offs for 144 yards with the 95-yard touchdown, one punt for 29 yards, a rush for six yards and two receptions for 33 yards. Jamie Hampton added two kick returns for 70 yards and three catches for 15 yards.
On the defense, Jaydn Walker paced the Wildcat tacklers with 10, one for a loss, and a pass breakup. Kentrell Lawson added eight stops, while Malik Harp had seven tackles to go with three for loss, two sacks and a quarterback hurry.
AJ Harris made his presence felt on the defensive line with five tackles, 2.5 for a loss, a sack and one hurry. Along with his key interception, Brown had four stops, one for a loss, and a hurry. Adeon Farmer accounted for the team's other sack and DeMarcus Harris the tackle for loss, while Amaury Hutchinson recovered the Allen fumble.
After Allen capped a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, Bell took the ensuing kick-off at his 5-yard line, ran to the middle and cut to the right sideline for another return for a touchdown of 95 yards for a 13-7 score.
Brown picked off the Yellow Jackets pass on their second play of the next possession and returned it 14 yards to the Allen 4-yard line. Marshall plunged in two plays later and Daniel Gibbs point after gave FVSU its first lead, 14-13, and one it would hold the final 33:45.
With the ball on the home 40-yard line, the Allen snap went over quarterback Jamir Dismuke head and resulted in a fumble recovered by Hutchinson. Five plays later, Durham lofted a 25-yard pass into the left corner of the end zone to JT Pendleton for the fourth home score in 3:30 of game time.
After three plays netting non yards on the next Allen plays, Morgan came from the right side and blocked the punt and recovered it at the visitors' 16-yard line. Durham capped the fourth score on a quarterback option he tucked and ran off the right tackle for the nine-yard touchdown.
The FVSU defense saw Farmer and AJ Harris sack the Allen signal caller for a 14-yard loss. Bell took the Allen punt and returned it 29 yards to set up the offense on the Yellow Jacket 36-yardline. With 50 seconds left in the opening half on the eighth play, Durham lofted the ball to the right flat to Adoulaye from three yards and completed the five-score quarter.
The two Durham to Sparks touchdown passes in the second half was enough to hold off along with a key 7-yard quarterback scramble for the final first down to end the day.
For Allen, Dismukes passes for 232 yards on 17 of 36 attempts for four scores. Running back Fabian Duncan became the first 100-yard rusher against the FVSU defense on the year with 135 yards on 25 carries.
SC State Last Weekend: Bulldogs Third-Quarter Field Goal Takes over Golden Eagles
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Kyle Gallegos booted a 40-yard field goal with 38 seconds left in the third quarter and gave South Carolina State enough to slip past Tennessee Tech, 22-20, last weekend.
Quarterback Eric Phoenix completed 17 of 31 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns while he threw two interceptions. Caden High pulled in seven of the passes for 150 yards and Justin Smith-Brown had four catches for 129 yards and two scores.
Both Aaron Smith, who had a sack and an interception, and Jadin Jones led the Bulldog defense with 10 tackles apiece.
Wildcats vs. Bulldogs
| FVSU |
Category |
SCSU |
| 39.2 ppg |
Scoring Offense |
24.4 ppg |
| 21.0 ppg |
Scoring Defense |
25.7 ppg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 367.0 yds/gm |
Total Offense |
352.2 yds/gm |
| 137.8 yds/gm |
Rush Offense |
225.3 yds/gm |
| 229.2 yds/gm |
Pass Offense |
126.9 yds/gm |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 307.5 yds/gm |
Total Defense |
322.6 yds/gm |
| 64.3 yds/gm |
Rush Defense |
121.5 yds/gm |
| 243.2 yds/gm |
Pass Defense |
201.2 yds/gm |
|
|
|
Wildcats Trek to Atlanta Versus Maroon Tigers
The Wildcats stay on the road to Atlanta next weekend. FVSU faces Morehouse College in a 1 p.m. kick-off on Saturday, Oct. 26.
