Box Score Oct. 4, 2008
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - North Carolina Central University's offense stormed out to a commanding lead and the defense held onto it as the Eagles defeated North Carolina A&T State University 28-27 in the 80th meeting between the long-time rivals held at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
An announced crowd of 20,180 fans witnessed another classic contest between the Eagles and Aggies, with the outcome holding in the balance during the final drive for the fourth consecutive meeting. The victory was the third straight in the series for NCCU, the longest such streak since the Eagles defeated the Aggies five times in a row from 1970-74.
NCCU (1-4) scored the first 21 points of the game courtesy of a 5-yard pass play from quarterback Stadford Brown to rookie tight end DeMarcus Hill (7:42, 1st Qtr.), and touchdown runs of 25 and 5 yards by running back Tim Shankle (14:18 and 9:10, 2nd Qtr.).
NC A&T (2-4) kicked a pair of field goals by Eric Houston to make the score 21-6 at the half.
For NCCU, however, the news heading into the locker room was painful. The Eagles' veteran signal caller Brown had his right throwing shoulder iced and in a sling with a probable broken collar bone.
At that point, the NCCU offense was placed in the hands of red-shirt freshman Keon Williams, a native of Charlotte playing in his hometown. Williams did what he was asked to do, manage the game. He completed 4-of-5 passes for 77 yards, including a 33-yard connection with Deshawn Spears on a second down and 21 yards-to-go play late in the fourth quarter to keep the chains and the clock moving.
Williams' effort was heroic because A&T kept charging in the second half.
The Aggies used some trickery to trim the deficit to 21-13 when punter Lee Woodson tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Nick Clement on a fake punt with 8:43 left in the third quarter.
Five minutes later it was the NCCU defense which answered the challenge as senior linebacker Alex Winters scooped up a fumble a dashed 38 yards for a score. Brandon Gilbert booted his 93rd consecutive extra-point kick to make the score 28-13 at 3:49 of the third stanza.
The Aggies did not back down as red-shirt freshman running back Nigel Tomlin used his 6-foot, 192-pound frame to bull his way for two touchdown runs. Tomlin's first scoring scamper was 21 yards with 1:21 left in the third quarter. His second touchdown was a 1-yard plunge that was set up by a 63-yard quarterback draw play by Carlton Fears. A&T opted to kick the extra-point to make it a one-point game at 9:56 of the fourth quarter, rather than go for two points and a tie.
That proved costly, as the NCCU defense, which forced three turnovers on the night, held its ground. Winters led the unit with eight total tackles, while Roger Stewart added seven stops, Eric Smalls had six hits with a sack and a forced fumble, and Derek Harvey tallied five tackles and an interception.
NCCU's Shankle finished with 55 yards on the ground, while Tony McCord added 42 rushing yards. Brown completed 7-of-12 passes for 62 yards and a score before the injury. Wayne Blackwell caught four passes for 42, while Spears grabbed three receptions for 52 yards.
NCCU posted 242 yards of total offense compared to 296 total yards for the Aggies.
A&T was topped by Tomlin's 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while linebacker Brandon Long amassed 11 tackles, including 4.5 hits for a loss with a sack to lead the Aggie defense.
