JC Smith football drops first NCAA playoff game, ending historic 2025 season

The Johnson C. Smith football team battled in its first NCAA Division II playoff game.

The Golden Bulls lost to Frostburg State, 21-7, on Saturday at Eddie McGirt Field inside the Irwin Belk Complex, ending their historic 2025 season.

JC Smith (10-2), seeded No. 2 in Super Region One, moved downfield on its final drive after giving up a late touchdown that sealed the game. The Bobcats scored twice in the first half and led early.

It marks the first Division II playoff appearance for the university near uptown Charlotte following its first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association title since 1969.

“I don’t have a sob story,” JC Smith head coach Maurice Flowers said. “I really don’t have a sob story, but I'm going to look back at this No. 2 seed, being 10-1 and losing in the first round, and the thing that gives me a lot of positivity is the moment. It wasn’t all the emotion spent last week, that wasn’t the reason, and we’ve all seen that a lot where a team sees the great big win and then the emotional letdown. This wasn’t an ‘emotional letdown.’ This is ‘We got our butts kicked (Saturday).’ All credit to Frostburg. We got our butts kicked. It wasn’t about not coming out with energy or juice.

“They caused it. They did it. Hats off to them. We’re going to learn from this one, and look, if we’re in the playoffs next year as a seven or eight seed, it doesn’t matter. Because we know what it takes to win a playoff game.”

How JC Smith played in its first NCAA Division II football playoff game

Frostburg State (10-2) brought a 14-0 lead into the second half.

While the Bobcats missed an early 20-yard field goal attempt, their defense made numerous stops and limited JC Smith’s chances. Redshirt sophomore running back KJ Smothers rushed for a 41-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, giving Frostburg State an early lead.

“I just hate losing,” senior quarterback Kelvin Durham said. “Thinking about how hard we came this season, what they did last year, and how far we were able to get over that hump this year. I can see the improvement.”

Smothers capped Frostburg’s next scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown rush early in the second quarter, and kicker Brandon Keen added his second extra point to make it 14-0.

JC Smith went for it on fourth down and short from inside the 10-yard line, and Durham fired a 7-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Deandre Proctor. Golden Bulls freshman kicker Lukasz Smolen drilled the point after, pulling his team wi withing seven at 14-7.

The Bobcats’ offense continued pushing, and Smothers ran for a 5-yard touchdown during the final minute of regulation. Several pass plays brought JC Smith to its opponent’s 25-yard line as time expired.

“A lot of history, a lot of ‘firsts,’” said redshirt junior linebacker Vincent Hill, who recorded a team-best nine tackles and one sack. “This is my favorite team I’ve ever been on since I’ve been playing football. It’s very bittersweet, but we’ve got to get back to the drawing board. That’s what I said when the game was over.”

Notable

— This marks JC Smith’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II football playoffs, which began in 1973.

— The Charlotte school has played in seven bowl games, with a 13-0 win against Lane in the 1941 Flower Bowl marking its first postseason appearance.

— JC Smith, the CIAA champion for the first time since 1969, was kept to its lowest point total of the season, since its 28-10 loss against Virginia Union on Sept. 20.

— Durham threw for 219 passing yards and a touchdown. Proctor led the Golden Bulls’ offense Saturday with 139 receiving yards, including their only score, on 14-of-17 targets.

He said it

“In no way is this a disappointing time around JCSU,” Flowers said. “So proud to be the head coach here, so proud of our young men. And it’s a tough one. It’s a tough one, but again, it’s not going to damper the gains that we have made in the program. As we said for our young men, we don’t lose. We learn. This is a lesson. We won’t see it. It’ll hurt right now, but this is something that’s going to fuel us to be even better.”

This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 3:59 PM.