It’s after a decisive victory last Saturday over two-time defending champions Virginia Union.
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Now, JCSU will host the first NCAA playoff game in program history.
Channel Nine sports reporter DaShawn Brown spoke to members of the show, who detailed what it means to the community.
“Our first year was on grass,” head coach Maurice Flowers said.
“We recruited that first class, there was a weight room in there that only fit 18 to 20 people in it, and we said, hey, grass is coming. We said a new locker room is coming. We said a new weight room is coming and it’s here,” he said.
His success didn’t come easy, nor did it come in Flowers’ first year.
The Charlotte native and former JCSU quarterback is in his fourth year as head coach, where he just led the program to its best record in school history: 10-1.
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READ ALSO: JCSU makes history with 55th CIAA Football Championship victory
“You know coach will tell us not to look at the crowd, but (when) I heard it, it was louder than usual,” JCSU quarterback Kelvin Durham said, describing the community support in Durham for the CIAA championship.
“I turned around and looked at everyone in the stands and felt what we see on TV at bigger schools,” Durham said.
“I’m very proud to say the biggest championship we have right now, yeah, this is big… the biggest championship we have is our team’s GPA is 3.16. Those are champions,” Flowers added.
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Flowers will often say they’ve built the program “brick by brick” – this season, adding senior quarterback Kelvin Durham, who transferred from Fort Valley State.
Flowers, a former coach there, recruited him.
“We’ve been through some things,” Flowers laughed. “He beat me.”
“I know what a competitor he is and that’s what we’ve learned through everything, through that loss this year we had to compete harder.”
On Saturday, JCSU will face Frostburg State in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
“We’re 10-1, ranked No. 11 in the country in the Top 25. We’re ranked No. 2 in Super Region One, so we didn’t sneak into the playoffs, we pretty much kicked the door down,” Flowers said.
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“We’ve already made a lot of history, but why not continue making more history?” Durham added.
The game begins at 1 pm Saturday at the Irwin Belk Complex in Charlotte.
Channel Nine sports reporter DaShawn Brown will be there with a full report on Eyewitness News at 6pm on Saturday afternoon.
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