Sept. 20, 2008

Final Stats

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Central Connecticut State University scored 21 unanswered points and then held off a late charge by North Carolina Central University to earn a 35-23 victory in the NAACP Harmony Classic at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, Conn.

The announced crowd of 8,322 broke the Northeast Conference home attendance record.

CCSU (2-1) opened up a 7-3 first quarter lead by scoring a touchdown just before halftime and then made two more trips to the end zone at the start of the third quarter to extend the cushion to 28-3.

NCCU (0-4) rallied for three touchdowns in the final 16:24 of the contest, but it was not enough.

The host Blue Devils amassed 399 yards of total offense, including 212 rushing yards. James Mallory, the top rusher in the Division I-FCS ranks, recorded 169 ground yards and a touchdown on 28 attempts, while adding two receptions for 41 yards to lead CCSU.

CCSU quarterback Aubrey Norris came off the bench to spark his team. Facing a slim 7-3 advantage in the second quarter, Norris led the Blue Devils on a six-play, 84-yard scoring drive that ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Nick Colagiovanni with just 1:23 remaining before intermission.

Norris found Colagiovanni again for a 21-yard score on the opening drive of the third quarter for a 21-3 margin at 11:46.

Following an interception by Blue Devils linebacker Jeff Marino, CCSU took a commanding 28-3 lead when Mallory trotted into the end zone on an 11-yard scamper with 8:08 left in the third quarter.

Facing a 25-point deficit, the visiting Eagles battled back by going to the air. Senior quarterback Stadford Brown completed touchdown passes of 11 and 6 yards, both to senior receiver Wayne Blackwell, and then dove for a touchdown of his own from three yards out to end the day's scoring.

Brown finished the afternoon by completing 22-of-34 passes for 309 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. In the second half alone, Brown was 17-for-26 for 252 passing yards and had a hand in all three touchdowns (2 pass, 1 rush).

NCCU finished with 364 yards of total offense and committed only one turnover after averaging five miscues per game in the team's first three contests.

Will Scott caught six passes for 121 yards as he reached the century mark for the third time this season for the Eagles. NCCU sophomore receiver Deshawn Spears tallied six receptions for 83 yards and Blackwell finished with five catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert made a 37-yard field goal and converted both of his extra-point kicks to raise his school career scoring record to 243 points.

The NCCU defense was topped by senior linebacker Troy McConico with nine tackles. Rashad Fox, Kurtis Campbell, Eric Smalls and Alex Winters added seven takedowns each, including 1.5 sacks for Smalls and an assisted sack for Winters.

Marino led the Blue Devils' defense with a game-high 12 stops to go along with his 18-yard interception return.

NCCU faces a bye week before playing the rival Aggies of North Carolina A&T on Oct. 4 at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.