By Shawn Warren, CIAA Media Assistant

(Cleveland, OH)  Through the first two games of the 2012 season, the Winston-Salem State Rams had made a habit of allowing opponents to hang around long enough for things to get really interesting in the fourth quarter.  A team that had made blowouts commonplace in their run to the Division II semi-finals last season, had struggled to put teams away this season.  The Rams needed a knocked down desperation pass to hold off UNC-Pembroke and survived a furious fourth quarter rally to turn back Concord, winning both games by a combined 13 points.  On Saturday, the outcome of the game was never in doubt.  Led by quarterback Kameron Smith, the Rams sprinted out of the gate early and never looked back as they cruised to a 55-21 win over Morehouse College in the Cleveland Classic at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Smith, a redshirt senior, threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns as the fifth-ranked Rams (3-0) piled up 677 yards of total offense in the rout of the Maroon Tigers (1-2).

Smith threw touchdowns of 21 and 28-yards to Jamal Williams (5 catches, 86 yards) and a 33-yarder to Jameze Massey as WSSU jumped out to a 21-7 first quarter lead.  Tailback Maurice Lewis added a short touchdown run in the second quarter and the Rams led 28-7 at the half.

The Rams continued to pile up points in the second half.  Smith threw his fourth and final touchdown of the day, a 3-yarder to tight end Jerry Chandler, to stretch the lead to 35-7 midway through the third quarter.  With the game in hand, Smith and the Rams’ starters played only a few more series before giving way to the reserves.

In the fourth quarter, Winston-Salem State’s subs kept the offensive onslaught going.  Backup quarterback Anthony Carrothers came in relief and tossed a 32-yard touchdown to Jahuann Butler; reserve running back Patrick Mputu added a 37-yard touchdown run, and third-string quarterback DeShea Townsend got in on the action, tossing an 8-yard touchdown to Orland Hatfield to complete the blowout.

In addition to Smith’s stellar day throwing the football, the Rams also ran for 276 yards.  Lewis accounted for 135 yards while reserves Mputu, DeQuann Leak, and Bryce Sherman combined for 131 yards.

Defensively, Winston-Salem limited Morehouse to 287 yards of offense.  Tailback David Carter, the Maroon Tigers’ career rushing leader, was bottled up all day, finishing with 39 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.  Carter had rushed for 329 yards and five touchdowns in his previous two games. The Rams also forced four turnovers.  Quarterback Donnay Ragland threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 74 yards to lead the Maroon Tigers.

Winston-Salem State jumps into conference play next week when they host the Virginia Union Panthers (2-1) Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium.

CIAA SCOREBOARD

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week Three
Monday, September 17, 2012

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
Name:  Markus Lawrence  Position:  Center  School:  Winston-Salem State
Height:  6-4  Weight:  290  Class:  Sr  Hometown:  Charlotte, NC
Comments:  Markus Lawrence helped guide the WSSU offensive unit that racked up an astounding 90 plays for 677 yards in WSSU's 55-21 blowout win over Morehouse College in the 2012 Cleveland Classic.

RECEIVER (Wideouts/Tight Ends)
Name:  Tyron Laughinghouse  Position:  WR  School: St. Augustine’s
Height:  6-2  Weight:  175  Class:  R-Sr  Hometown:  Greenville, NC
Comments:  Laughinghouse caught five passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-14 win over Southern Connecticut State. His touchdown receptions were for 56 and 24 yards.

QUARTERBACK
Name:  Kameron Smith  Position:  QB  School:  Winston-Salem State
Height:  5-11  Weight:  190  Class:  R-Sr  Hometown:  Garner, NC
Comments:  Kameron Smith had another monster game for WSSU, completing 21 of 41 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns in just three quarters. Smith connected with eight different receivers in the Rams’ 55-21 blowout win over Morehouse College.

OFFENSIVE BACK (Running back/Halfback/Fullback/Tailback)
Name:  Antonio Dunn  Position:  RB   School:  Shaw
Height:  5-10  Weight:  205  Class:  Sr.  Hometown:  Baton Rouge, LA
Comments:  Antonio Dunn gained all but two of Shaw's net yards on the ground in their game against Stillman Saturday afternoon. Dunn had 26 carries for 165 yards and scored two touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 6.3 yards per carry in the game.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN
Name:  Tim Green  Position:  DE   School:  Lincoln
Height:  6-1  Weight:  215  Class:  Sr.  Hometown:  Fanwood, N.J.
Comments:  The senior defensive end had a big game for Lincoln in a 35-23 loss on Saturday. He recorded a game-high 13 tackles, including nine solo stops. Green added seven tackles for a loss of 56 yards, one forced fumble, one pass break-up. He also finished with three quarterback hurries and three sacks.

LINEBACKER
Name:  TJ Batchelor    Position:  LB  School:  Chowan
Height:  6'0"  Weight:  230  Class:  Jr.  Hometown:  Middlesex, NC
Comments:  Batchelor had a monster game on defense for Chowan. TJ collected 17 tackles in a 28-17 loss to Shorter University, 10 solo, and seven assisted resulting in 31 total yards lost. Batchelor also forced two fumbles and had four sacks.

DEFENSIVE BACK
Name:  Derrick Manning  Position:  DB  School:  St. Augustine’s
Height:  6-1  Weight:  210  Class:  Sr  Hometown:  Waldorf, MD
Comments:  Manning intercepted a pass and was the team's second-leading tackler with six in a 30-14 win over Southern Connecticut State. Manning is tied for the league lead with two interceptions for the season. He is also tied for 19th nationally.

ROOKIE
Name:  Drew Powell Position: QB School: Livingstone
Height: 6’3 Weight:  235 Class:  FR  Hometown:  Upper Marlboro, MD
Comments:  Powell threw for a total of 295 yards (22-37-2) and three touchdowns; two of which he scored himself.  Powell currently leads the CIAA in yards per game (314.3) and passing touchdowns with a total of eight. Powell is also the only player out of the CIAA ranked in the NCAA Top 20 for total passing yards. He currently sits 13th.

SPECIALTY
Name:  Brett Symonds  Position:  K   School:  Elizabeth City State
Height:  5-10  Weight:  165  Class:  Jr  Hometown:  Temecula, CA
Comments:  Symonds played a major role in ECSU's first win of the season a 13-12 win over Albany State in the two team's first ever meeting. He connected on field goals of 44 yards and 29 yards and connected on an all important extra point that proved to be the go ahead point in the on-point victory.

COACH
Name:   Waverly Tillar  School:    Elizabeth City State University
Comments:    Waverly Tillar earned his 50th career win in the Vikings' 13-12 victory over SIAC opponent Albany State.