Johnson C. Smith ended Livingstone’s six-year domination of an historic football rivalry by thumping the error-plagued Blue Bears 35-12 at Alumni Stadium here Saturday.

The Golden Bulls, who hadn’t defeated the Bears since 1993, blocked two punts and took advantage of six Livingstone turnovers to easily win the CIAA contest.

The victory by coach Tim Harkness’ Bulls (2-1 in the CIAA and 3-4 overall) came in the 66th meeting of the two institutions that played the first black collegiate football game on the Livingstone campus on Dec. 27, 1892. The Charlotte university now holds a 35-27-4 series lead.

Devie King, one of only nine seniors on the Livingstone roster, came into the game hoping to sweep the Golden Bulls during his four-year career. The Bears had won by 42-21, 28-24 and 30-8 in his first three seasons.

“I’m also from Charlotte, so I would have been very happy to get this victory today, but we came up a little short,” said King, an all-CIAA defensive back as a junior and a three-year starter.

King, who played high school ball at West Mecklenburg, played on Livingstone’s back-to-back CIAA championship squads in 1997 and 1998. Now his team is 0-5 in the CIAA and 0-7 overall with three games to play.

“Our motivation is to get a victory, to get a ‘W.’ I came in undefeated and to go out defeated, that would be a great decline for my reputation or record. I just want to get a ‘W’ for team, for my self, self-pride, and for the coaches. We’ve just got to get a ‘W.’ It’s hard right now,” said King.

Livingstone took a 6-0 first-quarter lead, which gave the Bears some hope in the first half.

“We got on the board early on them. We had a few good defensive stands, but a few turnovers and it got out of hand real quick. We had a chance in the first quarter and the first half,” King added.

King intercepted a J.C. Smith pass in the first half, then stripped a fumble away from Malachi Pauling at the Livingstone 1 to keep the Golden Bulls from scoring in the third quarter, when it was still close at 20-6.

Coach Greg Richardson had a long talk with his freshman-dominated team after the disappointing loss to a big rival.

“I challenged them to try to be better football players. At this level, it’s hard work to be a good football player. Our young people have to learn what it takes to win, and it takes hard work,” said Richardson. “It takes hard work in the weightroom; it takes hard work coming to look at film. You just don’t beat people at this level by walking on the field, not like it is in high school. So I challenged them to do a better job of preparing themselves mentally and physically to get ready to play next week. I just hope they’ll heed it.”

The Bears will be at home at 6 p.m. next Saturday against Elizabeth City State (1-4, 1-6). Livingstone is at home against North Carolina Central onOct. 28, then closes out its season at Benedict in Columbia, S.C., on Nov. 4.

“The three teams that are left on our schedule are very winnable games, and I told the kids that. But they’re only winnable again if we come ready to play, and tonight was the first time I wasn’t sure we came ready to play.I was disappointed in that,” said Richardson.

As for the oldest rivalry in black college football, the coach said, “A lot of our young kids have no clue what the rivalry is about. They don’t know the mental attitude of the opposing team. We tried to tell them what J.C. Smith’s team is: They are a very prideful team, and that rivalry does mean something to them. They came out here ready to play.I thought we were a little flat.”

The Bears played without starting quarterback and punter D’Andre Hopper, who sat out the contest for disciplinary reasons, but the offense was at its season’s best in the first quarter.

The home team, with backup quarterback Antonio Kirkpatrick calling the signals, took the opening kickoff and drove from its own 32 to the J.C. Smith 15 before losing the ball on downs.

The defensive unit quickly forced a punt. A 28-yard return by Carlton Jones, followed by a clipping penalty against the Bears, gave Livingstone the ball at the J.C. Smith 39.

Four plays later, Kirkpatrick hit wide-open wide receiver Shannon Gainey in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass and a 6-0 lead.

Turnovers (two pass interceptions and four lost fumbles) were costly to the Livingstone offense the rest of the night.

The visitors tied it up on the first play of the second quarter after Damon Saunders’ fumble recovery at the Livingstone 6. William Harris ran 3 yards for the TD.

It was 14-6 at halftime after quarterback Desmond Brown’s 18-yard TD pass to wide receiver Jahmad Woods and Harris’ 2-point conversion with 7:34 left in the half. The Golden Bulls scored the first 21 points of the second half for a 35-6 lead.

Livingstone got on the scoreboard again when No. 3 quarterback Joel Ward, a freshman, scored his first career TD on a 6-yard run in the final quarter.

NOTES: The Golden Bulls had only a 235-153 advantage in total offense, but committed fewer turnovers (four) than did the losers. ... Jones ran for 46 yards in nine carries for the Bears, while Gainey had 50 yards on three receptions. ... Linebackers Jason Ocean (15 total tackles) and Nathaniel Turner and Shawn Smith(10 apiece) led Livingstone’s defense. ... Kedion Carter and Demetrius Rudolph had fumble recoveries for the Bears. ... J.C. Smith’s Abram Reed had two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a sack for the winners.