MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Chowan Football team dropped a heartbreaker in the season opener against Fayetteville State 24-21 on Saturday afternoon snapping a three game winning streak against the Broncos to open the season.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 21, Fayetteville State 24
LOCATION | Murfreesboro, N.C. (Garrison Stadium)
RECORDS | Chowan 0-1, Fayetteville State 1-0
PLAY BY PLAY
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Tyrell Freeman led the offensive charge on the ground with 21 carries for 166 yards. Freeman averaged 7.9 yards per carry.
Freshman starting quarterback Bryce Witt went 17-28 for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Witt added 49 yards on the ground.
Adrian McNeil, Torry Baker, and Ra'Cee Lucas hauled in three receptions each. McNeil posted 61 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Nate Wyche and Marquise Baldwin paced the defense with 15 and 10 tackles respectively. Wyche recorded 3.5 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss.
Chowan out produced the Broncos 467-234 in total offense with 257 yards passing and 210 yards rushing. The Broncos tallied 186 yards on the ground.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter
Chowan started their first drive on their own 21 yard line and marched the ball down the field on eight plays for the opening score of the contest to take a 7-0 lead. Bryce Witt started off the drive with a three yard pass to Torry Baker. Tyrell Freeman moved the chains breaking off an 18 yard run. Witt capped off the drive with a 20 yard strike to Adrian McNeil for the score.
Fayetteville State answered on the ensuing drive as kickoff returner Brandon Smith put the Broncos in good field position with a 40 yard return. The Broncos rushed for 40 yards on the drive capped off by a four yard quarterback plunge.
2nd Quarter
Fayetteville State took the lead 14-7 with 6:23 remaining in the first half after marching the ball down the field on seven plays for 60 yards, 54 yards came on the ground. FSU's Donshel Jetton found a seam for a 31 yard touchdown run to put the Broncos on top 14-7.
After a Chowan interception, the Hawks' defense stepped up forcing a three-and-out. Richie Staton snuffed out a screen play on third down dropping the Broncos' receiver in the backfield for an 11 yard loss forcing a punt.
Deep in their own territory, Chowan used a 16 yard rush by Tyrell Freeman to give the Hawks breathing room moving the ball out to the 23 yard-line. Two penalties on the drive stalled the attack.
The Hawks went into the locker room trailing the Broncos 14-7.
3rd Quarter
Coming out of the halftime break, neither team was able to muster up a scoring drive until late in the quarter when Fayetteville State took advantage of a Chowan miscue. The Hawks forced a Broncos punt but the returner muffed the punt and the Broncos took over at the three yard-line with 3:16 to play in the quarter.
The Hawks defense recorded stops on first and second down but was unable to keep the Broncos play caller out of the endzone from one yard out to take a 21-7 lead.
Chowan would quickly answer the bell with a three play 80 yard drive aided by a pass interference call against the Broncos. Tyrell Freeman provided a spark breaking off a game-high 30 yard rush into FSU territory. The ensuing play, Bryce Witt swung a screen pass out to the left side to Michael Offutt Jr, who streaked back across the middle of the field and found pay dirt for the 32 yard touchdown.
Fayetteville State led 21-14 heading into the final stanza.
4th Quarter
The Broncos return game gave them favorable field position after a 42 yard return set them up in Hawks' territory at the 43 yard line. FSU running back Stevie Green found a gap to put the Broncos in the redzone where the drive stalled. Fayetteville State chipped in a 27 yard field goal to push their advantage back to double-figures, 24-14, with 12:31 left in regulation.
Back-to-back strong runs by Tyrell Freeman moved the ball to midfield on the next Hawks possession. Torry Baker was found wide open behind the defensive secondary on a touch pass from Bryce Witt for the 50 yard strike to pull the Hawks to within three, 24-21, with 11:05 remaining in the contest.
On the ensuing drive, the Hawks defense produced the stop the needed as Nate Wyche stalled the Broncos drive with a third down sack.
The Hawks started their drive on their own 18 yard line with 9:03 remaining. Chowan moved the ball methodically down the field to set-up for a potential game-tying field goal. Bryce Witt connected with Paul Gooden and Adrian McNeil on strikes of 22 and 16 yards respectively on the drive.
Chowan moved the ball to the Broncos' 21 yard line with just over two minutes to play and facing a fourth down situation. Chowan's kicker, Connor Killeen, lined up the kick but the snap was mishandled and the game-tying opportunity went for not.
Fayetteville State sealed the contest with a 17 yard run on second down by Stevie Green as the Broncos moved into victory formation.
UP NEXT
Chowan will head on the road in their first of two road trips down south, as the Hawks travel to Cleveland, Miss. to face Delta State (1-0) in a non-conference battle on September 9. Kick-off is slated for 3:00 pm eastern time.
