‘The culture is just different’: Still unbeaten Johnson C. Smith football has bigger goals
Kamarro Edmonds knew he wanted to be a part of Johnson C. Smith.
Before this season, the in-state junior running back decided to transfer to the historically Black university in Charlotte. Edmonds was a nationally-recognized four-star recruit coming out of Havelock High School in eastern North Carolina and previously played at UNC and ECU.
He scored a pair of touchdowns in the recent historic win for the Golden Bulls, who remain undefeated through eight games for the first time in school history.
“I just love it here,” Edmonds, among the host of North Carolina natives on the roster, said following J.C. Smith’s eighth victory. “We had a lot of new guys come in. This is my first year, and I am one of those new guys. But the culture is just different. I just knew we were gonna be successful all year, from when we got there over the summer, all the way until now.
“We’re building every day. The chemistry is getting way better every day, and we’re just striving to get that championship.”
‘They’ve never seen Johnson C. Smith be a winner’
The run has been exciting, but J.C. Smith (8-0, 5-0 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) knows it still has plenty of unfinished business.
It won its seventh game of the season at home recently, taking down Shaw in a 21-14 victory. While the win wasn’t close for most of the afternoon and secured the team its best record in 55 years, J.C. Smith knew that a one-touchdown win wasn’t up to its standard.
The Golden Bulls moved the ball more offensively and had enough to come out on top, 24-15, at Winston-Salem State, which had won 20 of the sides’ past 21 meetings.
“Most of these guys, they’ve never seen Johnson C. Smith be a winner,” J.C. Smith head coach Maurice Flowers said. “It’s very special. We’ve got about 38 guys who came out here two years ago and lost. To come back with these guys and get the win, it’s a great feeling.”
Golden Bulls keep rising in national football polls
The school near uptown Charlotte continues being recognized among top college football programs in the country.
J.C. Smith now ranks No. 1 in an HBCU Division II poll following their big win against Winston-Salem State at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday. The Golden Bulls also rose three spots to No. 16 in the Division II AFCA coaches’ poll.
They host Fayetteville State in their final home game on Senior Day at 1 p.m. Saturday from Irwin Belk Complex, before closing out their regular season at Livingstone College in Salisbury on Nov. 9. The CIAA championship is set for the following week in Salem, Virginia.
“We put ourselves in a position to keep on going,” Flowers said. “We’re 8-0, 5-0 in the CIAA, and looking forward to a home game against a Fayetteville State team that we have not beaten since I’ve been on staff. We lost two years ago by one touchdown, lost last year by one touchdown.
”We’re gonna enjoy this win, then go get ready for Fayetteville State.”
