By Nick Bowton
nbowton@salisburypost.com
Livingstone senior Rashaad Flucker, one of the few holdovers from former coach Robert Massey’s teams, won two games in his first three seasons in Salisbury.
A running back, Flucker never really flourished because the Blue Bears have struggled to run the ball since he’s been here. Those circumstances made a 27-10 victory against Lincoln that much sweeter.
Flucker finished with 25 carries for 150 yards against the Lions. Livingstone had rushed for only 137 yards as a team in its first four games.
“The difference was when we made that first run, the offensive line seemed like they were more in shape, more enthused,” said Flucker, who leads Livingstone with 290 rushing yards, an average of 58.0 per game. “When you’re not running the ball real well, heads start dropping.
“Heads were up, everybody ready to play.”
That first play Flucker referenced was a rush of about 20 yards. After the play, Flucker said his linemen looked at him and said, “Let’s go get it.”
The Blue Bears continued to do so, as they rushed the ball 40 times as a team.
“One of the things at halftime, I told the guys Flucker was going to get the ball until he tells me he’s tired,” second-year Livingstone coach Lamonte Massie said. “I wasn’t hoping to hear him say, ‘I’m tired.’ One of the things that made me feel proud to say I’m Flucker’s head coach is we’re running the clock down, and he had the opportunity to make more than 150 yards. But he shared ball responsibilities with another back. I don’t know if he knew his stats, but it wasn’t that important to him.
“Flucker is one of the guys that was from the previous coaching staffs. He’s our student athletic advisory committee president. He’s made sacrifices financially to earn a scholarship at a higher level than in the past. These are the kinds of athletes we want to build Livingstone with.”
Livingstone’s next step will be to build on its first victory since 2006 with another one. Johnson C. Smith, the Blue Bears’ next opponent, has the second-worst rushing defense in the CIAA, allowing 214.6 yards per game.
The trip to and from J.C. Smith won’t be anywhere near as long as the bus ride to and from Pennsylvania this past weekend, but Flucker hopes to have a similar atmosphere on the way back. His ability to run the ball should play a key role in whether that’s possible.
“We were roll-calling, having a good time,” Flucker said of the ride back from Lincoln. “It felt really good instead of sitting in silence thinking about what just happened.
“It was a real good feeling we haven’t felt in a long, long time.”