On a night they celebrated the blues at Alumni Stadium, Livingstone’s football team found itself singing right along.
The Blue Bears played tissue-soft defense and failed to generate any kind of running game in a 26-9 loss to visiting Fayetteville State on Saturday.
“These were growing pains,” third-year coach Greg Richardson said after Livingstone (1-2) dropped its CIAA opener. “We’re a young, young team. We’ll get better, but we’re not getting better fast enough to compete with much bigger, more experienced teams.”
FSU (1-0, 3-1 overall) certainly fit the bill. The Broncos used their distinct height and weight advantage to push LC around, churning out 376 yards total offense — including 282 on the ground.
“They were a lot more physical than I thought they’d be,” linebacker Jason Ocean said. “Their offensive line blocked really well. I know they took me out of my game.”
Ocean modestly blamed himself despite leading all tacklers with 15. “I could have done better,” he said.
More importantly, he could have used some help. Livingstone had no answer for FSU’s Multiple-I attack steered by quarterbacks Jimmy Smith and Victor Leath. “We just went out and did what we do best,” said Broncos’ coach Kenny Phillips. “And they helped us out a little bit.”
Livingstone helped them out a lot. Quarterback Joel Ward fumbled on the Bears’ second play from scrimmage, a miscue recovered by FSU’s Barret Otto on the LC 34-yard line less than a minute into the game. Five plays later, Smith followed his center on a 2-yard touchdown run.
“That was a pretty bad start,” said Ward. “It put us in a hole. You can’t be doing that.”
That hole grew deeper when Livingstone fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Fayetteville’s Brandon Killett recovered on the 28. A quick completion to Wayman Westbrook gave the Broncs a first-and-goal on the 4, and a screen pass to Carnell Thornton gave them a 12-0 lead with 11:25 to play in the first quarter.
“You can’t spot them two touchdowns to begin the game,” said Richardson. “Those two fumbles were key. We made it simpler for them.”
Phillips, a former linebacker at East Carolina, was obviously pleased with the turn of events. “Hey, it’s always easier for your offense when you can shorten the field like that,” he said. “But it was still a good ballgame until the third quarter.”
FSU doused any comeback hopes with a pair of third-period touchdowns. The first came on a nine-play, 67-yard drive that opened the quarter. “We knew we had to stop them right there to have a chance,” said Richardson. “We didn’t do it.”
The second came seven plays after a Ward interception on the Livingstone 36 and gave the guests a 26-3 lead. “The third quarter was definitely big,” said Phillips. “It gave us room to operate. We played like a real college football team in the third quarter.”
Livingstone scored its lone touchdown on a well-executed, 74-yard screen pass from Ward to Shannon Gainey with 2:31 remaining. But it was simply too little, too late.
“We have to work on becoming mentally and physically tougher,” Richardson said. “The mistakes we made tonight either put points on the board or kept their drives going.”
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NOTES: LC gained only 57 yards on the ground, but Ward passed for a season-best 193. ... This was FSU’s first victory in Salisbury since 1989. ... Livingstone’s nonconference game against Virginia Union, postponed last weekend, will not be made up. The Bears return to action at 6 p.m. Saturday when they take on Virginia State at Statesville High School.
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Contact David Shaw at sports@salisburypost.com
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