Johnson C. Smith football wins first CIAA championship in 56 years
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- Johnson C. Smith captures first CIAA title since 1969 with 45-21 win.
- Senior QB Kelvin Durham accounted for six touchdowns and led offensive surge.
- Coach Maurice Flowers named CIAA coach of year after leading school to title.
The Johnson C. Smith football team is a conference champion for the second time in school history.
The university near uptown Charlotte posted a 45-21 win in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football championship game, knocking off top-seeded Virginia Union on Saturday at Durham County Memorial Stadium.
This is the Golden Bulls’ first CIAA title since 1969.
JC Smith senior quarterback Kelvin Durham threw five touchdown passes and rushed for one more. Golden Bulls head coach Maurice Flowers, named CIAA coach of the year, is a conference champion in his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater.
“I am overwhelmed with joy,” JCSU president Valerie Kinloch said. “Seeing the community that rallies around this team is really, really important, because when I looked up at the visitors’ side fans (Saturday), every single space was filled with alumni and friends. It’s a new era of excellence at JCSU. I started in August 2023, the work is the work and [we] will continue to do the work, but we pause and celebrate young athletes. Athletics and academics go hand in hand in the vision I have for this institution.
“To bring a championship to the city of Charlotte? It’s real. And when anyone thinks that Johnson C. Smith cannot do, we prove every single day we are more than surviving. We are thriving at this institution. A championship for the city of Charlotte means a championship for the people who invest in us, believe in us and want what’s best for us. We’re bringing this championship home. It’s a Johnson C. Smith University championship, but it’s also a city of Charlotte and state of North Carolina championship.”
How the Golden Bulls won the CIAA title game
Virginia Union moved slowly early before letting go of the football.
JC Smith senior free safety TJ Taybron recovered a fumble, which was forced out of running back Curtis Allen’s hands by senior defensive back Latrae Bass.
Durham fired an 18-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Reggie Brigman into the right corner of the end zone, and kicker Lukasz Smolen added the extra point to give the Golden Bulls a 7-0 lead during the opening minutes.
Panthers junior safety Jayden Early picked off a pass from Durham and appeared to return it for a touchdown before being ruled out at the 11-yard line. Junior fullback Jaehlan Joyner punched it in to cap the six-play drive and tie the game.
JC Smith marched right back, and Durham completed a touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Reginald Daniel over the middle for the 33-yard score that put the Golden Bulls back in front.
“We couldn’t take our foot off the gas,” Durham said. “No matter what the score was, we just kept going fast and playing our type of football: Not letting up.”
Allen, named the conference’s offensive player of the year, had several key rushes on Virginia Union’s next drive, including a 5-yard touchdown that made it 14-14.
Durham hammered a 30-yard pass to senior wide receiver Deandre Proctor toward the left sideline. The big plays continued. Proctor hauled in a 25-yard touchdown grab in heavily contested coverage, and Smolen’s third extra point gave JC Smith a 21-14 lead.
Durham and Proctor connected once again on a 58-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter, extending the Golden Bulls’ lead.
“Just doing what I had to do for the team,” Proctor said. “The O-line was great protecting (Durham), and he was able to get it to me.”
Redshirt junior safety Tynan Tucker intercepted the first pass thrown by Virginia Union redshirt junior quarterback RJ Rosales on the Panthers’ next series. Durham led another quick scoring drive, rushing it in from 3 yards out and giving JC Smith a 35-14 lead.
Smolen drilled a 40-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Allen rushed for another 5-yard touchdown, making it 38-21. JC Smith recovered the onside kick and scored once again.
Durham fired a 32-yard touchdown pass to Brigman during the final minute.
“This means a lot to our university,” said JC Smith redshirt freshman running back Bobby Smith, who rushed for 81 yards Saturday. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been here. To win it is just even better.”
Notable
- JC Smith made its first CIAA championship game appearance since 1972.
- Virginia Union, which entered Saturday as the two-time defending CIAA champion, is the only CIAA team that had been unbeaten in conference play this season. The Panthers snapped a seven-game win streak.
- Allen was kept to 141 rushing yards Saturday after being held to a season-low 114 rushing yards in Virginia Union’s 28-10 win against the Golden Bulls during the regular season Sept. 20.
Flowers said it
“We’re going to enjoy this one. That's for hell of a darn sure. We've waited more than 50 years,” Flowers said. “We’ve learned from a lot of teams from the CIAA before, a lot of teams before like Virginia Union sometimes win the CIAA and that’s the highlight of their season. From the beginning when we started this four years ago, it wasn’t to be just a CIAA champion. We wanted to build a Division II contender. We want to contend for a national championship at Johnson C. Smith University. We want to win the CIAA championship, that's one of our goals, and then we want to have a deep playoff run and compete for a national championship.
“We know we have backing from the university. We know we have backing from the city of Charlotte. And what we know we have is a strong recruiting base, so we’re going to be able to get good football players. It’s not just about winning the CIAA championship, it's about making a run and Johnson C. Smith being a consistent winner every year.”
What’s next for Johnson C. Smith?
The NCAA Division II football selection show is set for 6 p.m. Sunday, streamed live on NCAA.com.
This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 7:02 PM.
