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Durham, Cumberland County

Durham: Fayetteville State beats Virginia State 31-29

The Broncos rallied from 21-0 in the first CIAA Friday Night Blitz at Durham County Memorial Stadium. The CIAA release lists a 30-yard field goal and records of 8-3 and 7-4.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Alexandru Stanciu · Published

The downtown Durham skyline under an overcast sky

File photo: Discover Durham (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • Fayetteville State beat Virginia State 31-29 on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, in the inaugural CIAA Friday Night Blitz at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham. The CIAA release, posted Nov. 14, 2026, at 7:55 a.m., and Sports Illustrated both list that final. The release says more than 2,100 fans attended. Sports Illustrated reports 2,218 spectators. The CIAA release says Fayetteville State improved to 8-3 and Virginia State ended its season at 7-4. Sports Illustrated uses those same records.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026; Sports Illustrated
  • The CIAA release says Virginia State led 21-0 early in the second quarter, including a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. Jamir Dismukes then threw an 11-yard touchdown to Marcus Fleming and a 36-yard touchdown to Lorenzo Southern. The score was 21-14 at halftime. Noah Marshall ran 37 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to tie the game at 21. The release says the Broncos' defense then forced three straight Virginia State punts and held the Trojans to five passing yards in the third quarter.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026
  • The same release says Fayetteville State took its first lead on a 15-play, 68-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Dismukes, for a 28-21 score. Virginia State answered with an 18-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes. Baron Davis scored on a 7-yard run, and a two-point conversion put Virginia State ahead 29-28 with just over four minutes left.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026
  • The CIAA release says a 46-yard run by Isaiah Silver set up a 7-play, 57-yard drive, and John Hernandez-Vargas made a 30-yard field goal with 1:47 left for a 31-29 lead. Virginia State then drove into Fayetteville State territory. Ali Abdelkader missed a 29-yard field goal as time expired. Sports Illustrated uses the same 30-yard kick, the same 1:47 clock and the same missed 29-yard kick. It adds that the miss went to the right and that the ball had reached the Fayetteville State 13-yard line.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026; Sports Illustrated for the direction of the miss and the 13-yard line
  • The CIAA release says Dismukes finished with 197 passing yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown. Silver had 92 yards on 13 carries. Marshall had 43 rushing yards and a touchdown. Southern had four catches for 77 yards and a score. Fleming had five catches for 44 yards and a score. Sports Illustrated adds that Dismukes completed 15 of 29 passes and threw one interception. That completion line is not in the CIAA release.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026; Sports Illustrated for 15 of 29 and the interception
  • The CIAA release says CIAA Rookie of the Year Zyking Patillo had 12 tackles and a tackle for loss, and that Christopher Bentley had five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and three pass breakups. For Virginia State, it says Javion Whitfield rushed for 102 yards and had 45 receiving yards, Rahsaan Matthews Jr. had 201 total yards, and Davis scored two rushing touchdowns.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026
  • The CIAA release says the Friday game was for the conference's No. 3 and No. 4 seeds and does not say which team held which seed. It says the win strengthened Fayetteville State's hopes of an NCAA Division II playoff berth. The selection show is Sunday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. Eastern on NCAA.com. The first round is Saturday, Nov. 21. Sports Illustrated says Fayetteville State entered the week ranked No. 7 in Super Region One and Virginia State No. 9, and that eight teams qualify from each super region. Those rankings are not in the CIAA release.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026; Sports Illustrated for the Super Region ranks
  • The CIAA release says No. 1 Virginia Union and No. 2 Johnson C. Smith play for the 2026 CIAA Football Championship on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the same stadium. Sports Illustrated lists that game at 3 p.m. Eastern. The CIAA release does not print a kickoff time.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026; Sports Illustrated for the 3 p.m. listing
  • The CIAA release says the night included a ceremonial coin toss with four women, described as a white-cap official, the chair of the CIAA Board of Directors, the CIAA commissioner and the chair of the Durham Sports Commission. The release does not print their names.Confirmed by CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026

Still unknown

  • A winning streak or a Virginia State losing streak. Sports Illustrated writes that Fayetteville State extended a six-game winning streak and that Virginia State, after a 7-1 start, took a third straight loss. The CIAA release prints 8-3 and 7-4 and does not print those streaks. They are left out
  • Which team was the No. 3 seed and which was the No. 4 seed. The CIAA release names the seeds and does not assign them
  • Yardage and names on the blocked-field-goal touchdown. The CIAA release says a blocked field goal was returned for a score and does not give the return length or the players. Those details from Sports Illustrated are not used
  • A kickoff time for Friday. Neither account read here prints one

What happened

In Durham, Fayetteville State beat Virginia State 31-29 on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, in the first CIAA Friday Night Blitz at Durham County Memorial Stadium.

The CIAA release and Sports Illustrated both list that final. The conference account, posted Saturday at 7:55 a.m., says more than 2,100 people were there. Sports Illustrated reports a crowd of 2,218. The release says the win moved Fayetteville State to 8-3 and closed Virginia State's season at 7-4. The magazine uses those same records. Fayetteville State plays in Cumberland County. The game itself was in Durham.

An earlier Broncos result on this site is the 21-17 win over Bowie State. Another CIAA game at this stadium is the Bluefield State-Shaw Homecoming file.

From 21-0 to a one-score game

The CIAA release says Virginia State led 21-0 early in the second quarter. One of those scores was a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. Return yardage and the names on that play are absent from the conference account, so they stay out of this story.

Dismukes found Fleming for an 11-yard score and Southern for a 36-yard score. It was 21-14 at the half. In the third quarter Marshall ran 37 yards to tie the game at 21. The release says Fayetteville State's defense then forced three consecutive punts and allowed five passing yards in that quarter.

The first Broncos lead came on a 15-play, 68-yard drive. Dismukes scored from a yard out, and the score was 28-21. Virginia State answered with an 18-play possession that took nearly eight minutes. Davis scored from 7 yards, a two-point try succeeded, and the Trojans led 29-28 with just over four minutes remaining. The conference account leaves the scorer of that conversion unnamed.

The kicks the conference confirms

Silver's 46-yard run set up a 7-play, 57-yard drive, the release says. Hernandez-Vargas then made a 30-yard field goal with 1:47 left, and Fayetteville State led 31-29. Virginia State got the ball into Broncos territory. Abdelkader missed a 29-yard field goal as time ran out.

Sports Illustrated's account, read for this file, uses that same 30-yard kick, that same 1:47, and that same 29-yard miss. It adds that the kick sailed to the right and that the offense had reached the Fayetteville State 13. Those two details stay with the magazine. The distances and the clock stay with the CIAA release, which Sports Illustrated does not contradict on those points.

The magazine also writes that Fayetteville State stretched a six-game winning streak, and that Virginia State had started 7-1 before a third straight loss. The CIAA release prints 8-3 and 7-4 and does not print those streaks. They are not in this story.

The stat lines in the release

Dismukes threw for 197 yards and two scores and added a rushing touchdown, the conference account says. Silver carried 13 times for 92 yards. Marshall had 43 yards on the ground and the tying score. Southern caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Fleming caught five for 44 yards and a touchdown. Sports Illustrated adds a completion line the release does not: 15 of 29, with one interception.

Patillo, the CIAA Rookie of the Year in the release, had 12 tackles and a tackle for loss. Bentley had five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and three pass breakups. Whitfield rushed for 102 yards and caught passes for 45 more. Matthews accounted for 201 total yards. Davis scored two rushing touchdowns. Those figures are the release's.

The release says Friday paired the league's No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. It does not say which school was which. It also describes a ceremonial coin toss with four women: a white-cap official, the CIAA board chair, the commissioner and the Durham Sports Commission board chair. It does not name them.

Sunday's selection show

The CIAA says the victory improved Fayetteville State's case for the NCAA Division II playoffs. The selection show is Sunday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. Eastern on NCAA.com, and the first round is Saturday, Nov. 21. Sports Illustrated says the Broncos entered the week at No. 7 in Super Region One, with Virginia State at No. 9, and that each super region sends eight teams. Those rankings are the magazine's. They are not in the conference release.

Saturday, Nov. 14, No. 1 Virginia Union plays No. 2 Johnson C. Smith for the CIAA title at the same stadium, the release says. Sports Illustrated lists a 3 p.m. Eastern kickoff. The CIAA note does not include a clock. This file does not have a result from that game.

More Triangle sports is on this site. Cumberland County stories are on the county page. Durham stories are on the Durham County page.

Triangle Local is not Fayetteville State, Virginia State, or the CIAA.

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Photos

Text-only. No athletics or outlet photographs are used here.

Why it matters

Fayetteville State's football team, in Cumberland County, won the first CIAA Friday Night Blitz in Durham and is waiting on the Division II selection show Sunday. The championship game is at the same stadium Saturday.

Updates

  1. Nov 14, 2026, 9:40 AM

    First file from the CIAA release and Sports Illustrated. The 30-yard field goal, the missed 29-yard kick, and the 8-3 and 7-4 records are the release. Sports Illustrated uses those same figures. The six-game streak, the 7-1 start and the third straight Virginia State loss are in Sports Illustrated only and are left out. No athletics photos. lead is false. onTikTok is false.

Sources

  1. Fayetteville State Makes History With Thrilling Comeback Victory in Inaugural CIAA Friday Night Blitz (CIAA release, Nov. 14, 2026, 7:55:53 a.m., Durham: 31-29 on Friday at Durham County Memorial Stadium; rally from a 21-point deficit and a 21-0 hole early in the second quarter; more than 2,100 fans; Fayetteville State 8-3; Virginia State 7-4; blocked field goal returned for a touchdown; Dismukes to Fleming for 11 yards and to Southern for 36; 21-14 at half; Marshall 37-yard run to tie at 21; three straight punts and five passing yards allowed in the third quarter; 15-play, 68-yard drive and a 1-yard Dismukes run for a 28-21 lead; 18-play Virginia State drive of nearly eight minutes; Davis 7-yard score and a two-point conversion for 29-28 with just over four minutes left; Silver 46-yard run setting up a 7-play, 57-yard drive; Hernandez-Vargas 30-yard field goal with 1:47 left; Abdelkader 29-yard miss as time expired; Dismukes 197 passing yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing score; Silver 92 yards on 13 carries; Marshall 43 rushing yards; Southern four catches for 77; Fleming five for 44; Patillo 12 tackles and a tackle for loss, CIAA Rookie of the Year; Bentley five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and three pass breakups; Whitfield 102 rushing and 45 receiving; Matthews 201 total yards; Davis two rushing touchdowns; No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, not assigned; selection show Sunday, Nov. 15, 6 p.m. ET on NCAA.com; first round Saturday, Nov. 21; Saturday championship, No. 1 Virginia Union vs No. 2 Johnson C. Smith, no kickoff time in the release. Text-only. No CIAA photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by CIAA · Checked Nov 14, 2026, 9:40 AM

  2. CIAA Friday Night Blitz: Fayetteville State Overcomes 21-Point Deficit, Defeats Virginia State (Sports Illustrated, Kyle Mosley, Fayetteville State 31, Virginia State 29; Durham County Memorial Stadium; 2,218 spectators; Hernandez-Vargas 30-yard field goal with 1:47 left; Abdelkader missed a 29-yard field goal to the right as time expired, with the ball at the Fayetteville State 13; records 8-3 and 7-4, the same figures as the CIAA release; Dismukes 15 of 29 for 197 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The story also says Fayetteville State extended a six-game winning streak and that Virginia State, 7-1 at one point, took a third straight loss. Those streak lines are not in the CIAA release and are not used. Super Region One ranks of No. 7 and No. 9, and eight qualifiers per region, are used only as the magazine's outlook. Championship kickoff listed at 3 p.m. ET Saturday. Text-only. No SI or athletics photos used.)

    Third-party sourcePublished by Sports Illustrated · Checked Nov 14, 2026, 9:40 AM

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