By Tim Gayle

It was a simple run up the middle, but it changed the look of the fourth Red Tails Classic for the remainder of the game.

Johnson C. Smith tailback Quavaris Crouch took a handoff on the first play of the second half and sprinted through a huge hole on the way to the end zone 75 yards away, breaking a 7-7 tie and lifting the Golden Bulls to a 21-13 win over Tuskegee on Sunday night at Cramton Bowl.

“That was a big momentum changer,” Tuskegee coach Aaron James said. “We had a missed assignment there, a blown assignment. The running back went straight up the middle, up the ‘A’ gap and scored a touchdown. Coming out of the half, you know, that should never happen.”

James is correct, but Crouch would go on to rush for 48 more yards in the fourth quarter that helped seal the win, part of a 161-yard night that earned the senior Most Valuable Player honors in his long-awaited return to college football.

“It feels awesome,” Crouch said. “I thank God because I never knew I was going to put a jersey on again.”

Back in what almost seems like a lifetime ago, Crouch was considered the top college prospect in America, a five-star running back and linebacker that had lifted his Harding High team to a state championship in 2017. Tennessee won the recruiting battle and Crouch played as a linebacker for the Volunteers in 2019 and started 10 games in 2020. As questions arose concerning the program and coach Jeremy Pruitt, Crouch jumped in the transfer portal and went to play for Mel Tucker at Michigan State in 2021.

Now it was Tucker who was on the hot seat regarding off-the-field issues following the 2021 season and Crouch jumped in the transfer portal again, but never really landed. He came back to Charlotte in 2022 and 2023, finding a job and taking community college courses before trying his hand, one last time, this season at Johnson C. Smith, now as a running back.

Crouch matched his first-half rushing total with a 15-yard run late in the first half to give the Golden Bulls an apparent lead, but it was nullified by a holding penalty. A missed field goal followed and the two teams were tied at 7-7 at the half. So far, Crouch had done little to remind anyone of the talent that made him a five-star recruit.

That all changed with his first carry of the second half.

“I feel like the biggest thing I was telling myself is to stay patient,” he said. “At first, I felt like it was moving slow, I wasn’t hitting it like I wanted to, but keep pressing, keep communicating with the offensive line and the coaches, trust in the process, everything we said we would do, and it started hitting for us.”

It’s been five years since he played any running back, but every good runner knows where to deliver the credit for his touchdown.

“The offensive line,” he said. “You can’t do nothing without the offensive line. They always take care of me and keep me healthy. I feel like we’ve got a good group.”

His 161 yards were the second most in the four-year history of the Red Tails Classic, trailing only Emanuel Wilson, now with the Green Bay Packers. Wilson was a tailback coached by Johnson C. Smith coach Maurice Flowers when Flowers was at Fort Valley State. Now Flowers has another talented running back who shook off a slow start with a dominant second half.

“We just knew that we weren’t playing our best ball in the first half,” Crouch said. “In the second half, we put it together, put on more steam. Just like the Clemson-Georgia game that was kind of close in the first half, in the second half Georgia came and pushed it on out. So we were just trying to follow the example they gave us.”

Johnson C. Smith turned a negative into a positive and ran past Tuskegee 21-13 in the fourth annual Red Tails Classic at the historic Cramton Bowl.

Junior tailback and Michigan State transfer Quavaris Crouch scored on the first play of the third quarter when he raced 75 yards to give the Golden Bulls a 14-7 lead just 11 seconds into the second half.

Crouch had a touchdown nullified by a penalty in the final seconds of the first half and the Golden Bulls missed a subsequent field goal that left the teams tied at halftime.

“Upset’s a good word to say,” Johnson C. Smith head coach Maurice Flowers said. “What we said at halftime was let’s stop helping them. Most of the things that they got were things that we gave them.”

Crouch took a simple handoff on the first play of the third quarter, found a hole and outran Tuskegee defenders for the go-ahead 75-yard touchdown run.

“What we did, if you go back to Pop Warner football, you might call it ‘Dive Right’ or ‘Dive Left,’ Flowers added. “I mean, that’s what it was. You had to just trust what you’ve been taught. And so when you have a veteran team, that’s what you can do. You can trust the team and just trust the process because they believe in the system. And if you believe in the system, the system is sound. We should be able to make some big plays to keep us in the game.”

Tuskegee head coach Aaron James called it a “momentum changer”.

“We had a blown assignment,” James said. “The running back went straight up the middle, up the ‘A’ gap and scored a touchdown. Coming out of the half, you know, that should never happen. Like I said, it was just a mental mistake and we’ve just got to go back and clean up a lot of things.”

Crouch finished with 21 carries for 161 yards and one touchdown to earn Red Tails Classic MVP honors. The 161 rushing yards and 75-yard run are both the second most in Red Tails Classic history.

Tuskegee answered with a 51-yard touchdown drive set up by Devon Cooper’s 32-yard kickoff return.

Senior running back Johnny Morris capped the five-play drive with a 1-yard TD run. Junior Lorcan Ryans missed the extra point attempt, leaving the Tigers with a 14-13 deficit.

Johnson C. Smith junior receiver Bevin Caldwell was the playmaker in the passing game. He caught seven passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Caldwell had a 37-yard catch-and-run touchdown late in the third quarter to give the Golden Bulls a 21-13 lead.

Johnson C. Smith turned a fumble recovery into a touchdown in the final minute of the first quarter for the game’s first score. Junior linebacker Chris Jackson recovered a fumble by Tuskegee freshman receiver Reggie Brigman at the Golden Tigers’ 21-yard line.

Five plays later, junior quarterback Darius Ocean tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Caldwell in the corner of the end zone to give the Golden Bulls a 7-0 lead with 58 seconds left in the first quarter.

Tuskegee made a big play on special teams to set up the game-tying touchdown on the next possession. Sophomore Timarcus Grayson blocked a punt to put the Golden Tigers at the 9-yard line.

After taking an 11-yard sack on first down, junior quarterback Raquon Beal redeemed himself with a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Karon Taylor to knot the score at 7-7 with 10:41 left in the first half.

Johnson C. Smith (1-0) played in the Red Tails Classic for the first time.  Flowers improved to 2-0 as head coach at the Red Tails Classic. He led Fort Valley State to a 30-0 win over Tuskegee in the inaugural Red Tails Classic in 2021.

Tuskegee (0-1) fell to 1-3 in Red Tails Classic games, losing twice to Fort Valley State (2021 and 2022) and a third time on Sunday. The Golden Tigers’ lone win came against Fort Valley State in 2023.

MONTGOMERY – The 2024 college football season begins in 85 days and the first prime time game of the season will take place at the historic Cramton Bowl in Montgomery.

The 10th FCS Kickoff will be played on Saturday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. (ET) and will be televised by ESPN.

Southeast Missouri State and North Alabama will meet in this year’s game.

In addition, the fourth annual Red Tails Classic will be played on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on ESPNU.

Johnson C. Smith will face Tuskegee in this year’s game.

The FCS Kickoff dates back to the 2014 season. The first three games were played at campus sites.

ESPN Events brought the game to Montgomery in 2017, where Jacksonville Stare defeated Chattanooga 27-13.

This is the seventh FCS Kickoff played at the Cramton Bowl.

North Alabama will be making its second straight appearance in the FCS Kickoff. The Lions dropped a 17-7 decision to Mercer last year.

Southeast Missouri State is making its debut in the event, and will be the 16th different team to play in the FCS Kickoff.

Tuskegee will be the home team in the Red Tails Classic for the fourth straight year. The Tigers faced Fort Valley State in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Johnson C. Smith will be making its inaugural appearance in the Red Tails Classic.

For ticket information log on to www.Montgomerykickoffgames.com

About ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2024, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premier regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. Follow ESPN Events on Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube.

Montgomery – The Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls and Tuskegee Golden Tigers will meet in the fourth annual Red Tails Classic at the historic Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., on Sunday, Sept. 1. The game time, ESPN platform designation and ticket information will be announced at a later date.

The game was created in 2021 by ESPN Events to honor the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.

“We are grateful to ESPN Events for showcasing this event on Labor Day weekend,” Johnny Williams, Executive Director of the Boeing Red Tails Classic and Camellia Bowl, said. “We have tremendous support the last three years from not on the Tuskegee community by the City of Montgomery. We are excited to host such a prestigious event again.”

Tuskegee is playing the Red Tails Classic for the fourth straight year. The previous three meetings came against conference rival Fort Valley State. The Golden Tigers posted a 7-4 record last season, including a thrilling 37-31 win over Fort Valley State in the Boeing Red Tails Classic.

“We are excited to once again open our upcoming football season with a nationally televised game in the Red Tails Classic,” head coach Aaron James said. “Our program has enjoyed tremendous support over the past few seasons with Montgomery being one of our surrounding areas, while we also look to bring home a win again like we did in 2023.”

Johnson C. Smith is making its Red Tails Classic debut in 2024. The Golden Bulls posted a 7-4 record last season and played in three separate HBCU Classics. Johnson C. Smith, located in Charlotte, NC, plays in the NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

“The Red Tails Classic has so much tradition and playing against Tuskegee University, one of the most storied championships football programs makes it meaningful,” JCSU head coach Maurice Flowers said. “It is an honor to be able to play in the Red Tails Classic. We are excited, this is great for our football program to be playing in a nationally televised game.”

ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2024, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premier regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. Follow ESPN Events on Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube