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DURHAM Fayetteville State's football team hadn't been held scoreless for a half all season. But the Broncos found themselves trailing 10-0 because of a dominating Bowie State defense.
Then Fayetteville State coach Kenny Phillips made perhaps his best coaching decision all season - to switch quarterbacks.
With 11 minutes, 44 seconds left in the third quarter, Phillips inserted junior Benjamin Williams, who had been benched earlier in the season. Williams wasted no time in taking advantage of his new job status and throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jamere Pugh.
From there, Fayetteville State couldn't be stopped, and the Broncos rallied to win 21-10 for their third CIAA championship since the title game was instituted 10 years ago today.
For Williams, the victory was redemption. He was voted most valuable player after completing six of his 14 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown.
"I just used it (benching) as a test of my character," the Charlotte native said. "I didn't play well after the first five games of the season, but I held my composure and kept competing."
Phillips, a former coach at N.C. State, becomes the first coach to win three CIAA football championships.
Not bad for a team that started 0-2.
"I told our guys they've got to play 60 minutes to beat the Broncos. We just needed to go out and play like wild horses," said Phillips, who on Friday was chosen the league's coach of the year.
Bowie State mustered only 30 good minutes. The Bulldogs held the Broncos to 108 first-half yards and a 10-0 deficit after a 10-yard run by running back Ramono Flowers and a 21-yard field goal by Michael Gagne.
But Fayetteville State is a second-half team. The Broncos have outscored opponents 96-36 in the fourth quarter.
