Aug. 31, 2008

Final Stats

DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University committed five turnovers and two special teams blunders which led to a 33-22 Fayetteville State University upset victory, ruining the Eagles home-opener in front of 8,853 fans at NCCU's O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.

FSU (1-0) scored its first four touchdowns following NCCU mistakes, including two fumbles, a blocked punt and a snap that sailed over the punter's head.

On the day, NCCU (0-1) fumbled six times, four of which were recovered by the visiting Broncos, and threw an interception.

The host Eagles amassed 339 yards of total offense, including 284 yards passing by senior quarterback Stadford Brown, but managed only 55 rushing yards as a team.

FSU only needed 257 total yards with 172 through the air and 85 on the ground. The Broncos longest scoring drive of the contest was 26 yards, with two others covering 21 and 11 yards.

The first play from scrimmage proved to be a sign of things to come for NCCU, as Brown completed a 24-yard pass to sophomore receiver Corey Harris, who lost the ball at the Broncos 24-yard line and had it recovered by FSU's Terrel Allen.

After a defensive stop, NCCU lit the scoreboard first courtesy of a 2-yard run by senior running back Jeff Toliver at 8:42 of the first quarter. Brandon Gilbert's extra-point kick put the Eagles on top 7-0.

The next time the Eagles got the ball, Brown fumbled the ball in an attempted hand-off and FSU recovered at the NCCU 21-yard line. Six plays later, FSU quarterback Bryan Hardy completed a 3-yard pass to Gavin Hardison at 4:51 of the first quarter. Bryant Conner's extra-point kick hit the left upright to keep the score 7-6 in favor of the home team.

An FSU fumble forced by Teryl White and recovered by Danez Jones resulted in an 8-play, 73-yard scoring drive capped by Toliver's second rushing touchdown at 7:10 of the second quarter. Gilbert's 85th consecutive extra-point kick increased NCCU's lead to 14-6.

On NCCU's next possession and facing 4th down and 20 yards to go, the snap from center sailed over the punter Taylor Gray's head. Gray fell on the loose ball, resulting in a 29-yard loss and giving the Broncos a chance from the Eagles 11-yard line.

In spite of losing 14 yards on the first play, two plays later reserve quarterback Ben Williams found Kendon Doe for a 25-yard touchdown connection with 1:45 remaining before intermission. The 2-point rush attempt was stopped, as the Eagles held on to a slim 14-12 advantage.

On the ensuing possession, NCCU mounted a charge and moved the pigskin to the Broncos 26-yard line, seeming to at least be in striking distance for a field goal. On the eighth play of the drive, however, senior receiver Will Scott caught a pass and fumbled while attempting to get out of bounds to stop the ticking clock. FSU's Allen picked up the fumble and tossed it to teammate Jeff Gowdy, who sprinted 79 yards for a go-ahead touchdown on the final play of the first half. Connor added the extra-point kick to give the Broncos a 19-14 lead at halftime.

On NCCU's first possession of the second half, Gray's punt attempt was blocked by Monte' Summerville and scooped up by John Hicks for a 21-yard touchdown. Conner's extra-point kick pushed the FSU cushion to 26-14 at 8:12 of the third quarter.

Midway through the final stanza, the upset-minded Broncos put the game out of reach with a 5-play, 26-yard drive that ended with Williams finding Darryl Barnett through traffic in the back of the end zone. Conner's extra-point kick made the score 33-14 with 6:39 left in the contest.

NCCU tried to climb back into the game when Brown threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to senior Wayne Blackwell with 5:16 on the clock. The two also connected on the 2-point conversion to narrow the deficit to 11 points.

After FSU controlled the on-sides kick, the NCCU defense held the Broncos to a three-and-out. NCCU pushed the ball into Bronco territory, but on the 10th play of the drive Brown's pass sailed over the head of the intended receiver and Summerville was there for the interception to seal the victory.

Williams completed 12 of 16 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Broncos. FSU running back Richard Medlin recorded 94 yards on 15 carries for an average of 6.3 yards per attempt.

Allen topped the Bronco defense with six tackles, including a 9-yard sack, along with two fumble recoveries and a pass break-up.

NCCU's Brown completed 19 of 43 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown. Scott had a team-high six receptions for 112 yards, while Blackwell caught five passes for 80 yards and a score.

NCCU's defense was topped by senior linebacker Troy McConico with a game-high eight tackles, including 1.5 hits for a loss. Sophomores Donald Laster and Rakeem Vick contributed 1.5 sacks each. As a defensive unit, the Eagles totaled 9.0 tackles for a loss of 51 yards, including 4.0 sacks for 27 yards lost.

The win was the Division II Broncos first over a Division I opponent and snapped NCCU's three-game win streak in the series.

NOTE: NCCU sophomore punter Taylor Gray booted a 71-yard punt in the second quarter against Fayetteville State, tying for the eighth-longest punt in school history.