That’s because their Winston-Salem State football team had just defeated Livingstone 34-0 in an important Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association game at Statesville High School’s Greyhound Stadium on Saturday.

Seniors Hairston, a former North Rowan High star, and Wilson, a prep standout at Davie County, enjoyed their first victory over Livingstone in their five years in the Winston-Salem State program.

Coach Kermit Blount’s Rams used the win over Livingstone to move into a tie with Virginia State for the CIAA lead at 3-0.

“These guys have been extraordinary within the program,” said coach Blount of Hairston and Wilson, who were both redshirted in 1995. “Both of them are tremendously academically sound. Deryl’s a four-year starter for us, and Travis is a three-year starter. We’re very fortunate and lucky to have those guys. They’ve been kind of like the catalyst for what we’ve been doing the previous couple of years.”

Wilson has a 2.93 grade-point average while majoring in management information systems. Hairston, who is majoring in history with a minor in physical education, has a 2.80 average.

Hairston, the Rams’ 6-foot, 295-pound starting center the past two seasons, has been an important part of an offensive unit that ranks second in the conference in scoring (23.2 average) and fourth in rushing offense (147.8 yards per game).

Against Livingstone, however, the former defensive (nose guard) standout for North Rowan’s Cavaliers had the misfortune to sprain his knee on his team’s third offensive possession of the game. He limped out, didn’t play again and was on crutches with a sprained knee from halftime on.

“It’s better today,” he said after missing Monday’s practice, adding that he planned to practice the rest of the week and be ready for Saturday’s game with North Carolina Central.

Hairston, who never played in the offensive line in high school, was recruited by the Rams as a defensive lineman, but made the switch to offense as a sophomore eligibility-wise in 1997, when he played guard. Then, when starting center Eric McDavid was injured during preseason practice in August of 1998, Hairston was switched to center.

“It was a week before the first game with Catawba,” said Hairston. “It was something new. I saw a chance to get some playing time.” He had started a couple of games at guard the previous season, but now he was a full-time starter. He eventually was on the field for every offensive center snap the entire 1998 season, when the Rams were 5-5.

“We tied for first in the conference (5-2) with Livingstone, but they won the championship because they beat us,” said Hairston, who was elated to beat the Bears. Livingstone had tied the Rams in 1995, then won the next three meetings.

“I was fired up for them. We wanted to put more points on the board than we did on them. I feel like we owed them,” said Hairston, whose team led 10-0 when he was hurt. “I was disappointed because I couldn’t get back in there.”

The Rams came into 1999 with high hopes.

“We had a lot of people coming back and a lot of experience at a lot of positions,” he pointed out. “Three starters graduated on defense and three on offense.”

Winston-Salem State, 3-2 overall, has yet to allow a point in conference games, outscoring the opposition a combined 95-0. The Rams’ defense is riding a 13-quarter scoreless streak that counts the final quarter of 1998.

“I feel like we have the best defense in the conference. Offense: We are going to have to step it up a little bit,” he said.

The Rams lead the CIAA in scoring defense (7.4) and rank second in both total defense (213.6 yards per game) and rushing defense (95.8).

“It was a big win (beating Livingstone),” said cornerback Wilson, who started out as a defensive back for Davie County, but wound up at running back and in the secondary his last two years.

“The defense played hard. We got a couple of shutouts (17-0 over Virginia Union and 44-0 over Fayetteville State). We wanted to keep that going. That’s a big win for us,” said Wilson.

Livingstone threatened to score in the final minute, reaching the Rams’ 12-yard line. The Winston-Salem defense tightened on third down, throwing Livingstone running back Carlton Jones for a 1-yard loss when Wilson and Calvin Bryant knocked the sophomore out of bounds.

“We’re starting to get used to shutouts,” said Wilson. “We kept playing hard. We didn’t want to give up any points tonight.”

The shutout was complete after the Bears’ fourth-down incomplete pass.

Wilson said that, with his team ahead 27-0 at halftime, the defensive unit had to guard against a second-half letdown.

“We might have got a little relaxed, but we had to step it back up for the big defensive stand down on the goal line. That really brought us back to our senses,” he said.

Livingstone came into the game with the CIAA’s top total offense (366.8 yards per game), second-best rushing offense (235.2 yards), total offense leader (quarterback D’Andre Hopper) and No. 2 ground-gainer (Jones).

“We didn’t have the idea we could shut them out,” said Wilson, “but that was one of our goals. Once we got into the flow of the game, we had pride in ourselves and we just kept playing hard, because we wanted the shutout.”

Like Hairston, Wilson had waited a long time to beat Livingstone.

“My first year, I was redshirted, and we tied Livingstone. From then on, it was downhill. I have never beaten Livingstone. It feels good to finally get one,” he said.

The Rams have won two key league games by beating Virginia Union and Livingstone, now Winston-Salem will have the home field advantage four straight games against league foes N. C. Central, Virginia State, Johnson C. Smith and Elizabeth City State.

Winston-Salem and Virginia State tangle on Oct. 23 at Bowman Gray Stadium in a game that could decide the league title.

“It would be sweet,” said Wilson. “A CIAA championship to go out with, you couldn’t ask for anything better than that.”

Coach Blount says of the Rams’ upcoming four straight home games, “It’s good to be back home, but it’s tougher playing at home than it is on the road. You are a little bit more relaxed on the road, because you don’t have some of the worries that you have at home. We’re trying to take them one at a time. It’s going to be vital that we go out and play well this week against Central.”

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