Aug. 25, 2007

ALBANY, GA - Albany State University controlled the line of scrimmage and took advantage of turnovers during a 16-10 season-opening victory over North Carolina Central University, the defending Black College National Champions, at Albany, Ga.

Albany State (1-0) dominated most of the game, but North Carolina Central (0-1) still had a chance to win. On the last play of the contest, NCCU quarterback Stadford Brown's pass across the field and into the end zone was swatted away by the Rams' defense. On the first play of the game from the line of scrimmage, ASU quarterback Kisan Flakes fumbled the ball and it was recovered by NCCU senior end Xavier Joe at the Rams' 37-yard line.

On the Eagles' ensuing possession, NCCU senior kicker Brandon Gilbert watched his 48-yard field goal attempt hit the cross-bar and fall short. ASU fell victim to the goal post as well, as rookie kicker Tory Torstenson hit the right pole on a 30-yard field goal attempt late in the first quarter. With less than a minute to go in the opening stanza, ASU converted on a fourth-and-four play with a 18-yard completion to Lamont Williams, moving the ball to the Eagles' 17-yard line. The Eagles' defense, however, sent the Rams backwards and kept the game scoreless. NCCU was held without a first down until 11:31 of the second quarter. With 1:57 left before the break, Brown threw an interception to defensive lineman Jason Marshall, giving the Rams the ball inside the Eagles' red-zone at the 13-yard line.

ASU was able to take advantage of the NCCU turnover with a 9-yard touchdown connection from Flakes to sophomore receiver Nick Kyles, who out-leaped the Eagles' secondary in the back of the end zone to put the Rams on top 7-0 with just 41.3 seconds left in the second quarter. Trying to answer before halftime, NCCU's Brown threw his second pick of the game attempting to strike deep with 12 seconds remaining, as ASU sophomore Terry McGhee intercepted the pass in the end zone to keep the score 7-0 at intermission in favor of the home team. NCCU thought they had evened the game up on its first possession of the second half, but after ruling a touchdown catch by tight end Christopher Edwards as a completion, the officials gathered and changed the call to incomplete. The Eagles settled for a 31-yard field goal by Gilbert to narrow the deficit to 7-3 at 8:40 of the third quarter.

ASU pushed the cushion to 10-3 on a 28-yard field goal by Torstenson with 14:06 left in the contest. On the ensuing possession, NCCU moved the pigskin to its own 49-yard line, but was stopped by a stingy ASU defense on a fourth-and-one run play. With 6:15 left, NCCU linebacker Derrick Ray stripped the ball from running back LiRonnie Davis and it was recovered by Eagle lineman Courtney Coard, giving NCCU new life.

However, on the next play, NCCU attempted a pass to the end zone, but the result was Brown's third interception of the night. On the very next play, ASU seemingly sealed the victory with a 60-yard touchdown scamper by Brian Porter to make the score 16-3 with 5:43 remaining. NCCU managed to narrow the gap to 16-10 on a 26-yard pass from Brown to junior receiver Wayne Blackwell with 2:01 left in the contest.

After the NCCU defense forced a punt, the Eagles pushed the ball as deep as the 20-yard line in ASU territory, but on the final play of the game Brown's pass across the field into the end zone was swatted away by the Rams. NCCU suffered its first regular-season loss since Oct. 1, 2005, and the Eagles' first road defeat since Oct. 9, 2004. NCCU managed 240 yards of total offense, including 139 through the air, but ASU amassed 312 total yards, including 239 on the ground.

Porter finished with a game-high 116 rushing yards on 14 carries for the Rams.