Oct. 17, 2009

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DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University intercepted four passes and amassed 361 yards of total offense to cruise to a 52-7 victory over Central Methodist University on a cool Saturday afternoon at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C.

NCCU (1-6) scored 38 points in the first half against the NAIA's 20th-ranked team in the nation en route to its first victory of the season. The CMU loss is just the second of the season for the visiting Eagles, ending a four-game win streak.

The victors scored on all seven possessions of the first half, leading 18-0 at the end of the first quarter and 38-0 at halftime. NCCU out-gained the visitors 285-24 in the opening 30 minutes of play, with the Eagle defense holding CMU to zero rushing yards on 13 first-half carries.

Rookie kicker Frankie Cardelle booted a 41-yard field goal to cap a 10-play, 62-yard opening drive for NCCU.

On CMU's ensuing possession, junior linebacker Calvin Hillie intercepted his second pass in as many weeks to set up a 6-yard touchdown scamper by junior running back Tim Shankle. On the extra-point, NCCU aligned to kick the PAT, but ran a triple option with holder Nickolas Hahula pitching the ball to kicker Cardelle who threw to senior Saeed Abdul-Azeez in the end zone for the two-point conversion at 3:24 of the first quarter.

On the first play of NCCU's third possession, sophomore quarterback Michael Johnson connected with sophomore receiver Andrew Johnson for a 59-yard touchdown. Cardelle's extra-point kick made the score 18-0 with 1:53 left in the first quarter.

NCCU posted an 11-play, 54-yard drive to open the second quarter with Shankle taking the final play eight yards for his second score of the day to put the Eagles up 25-0 at the 11:05 mark.

NCCU wasted little time the next time it controlled the pigskin, as sophomore receiver Geovonie Irvine out-muscled a CMU defender for a 49-yard touchdown pass from Johnson on the first snap from center. Cardelle's PAT kick made the score 32-0 at 9:56 of the second quarter.

After a stifling NCCU defense held the visitors to their fifth consecutive three-and-out possession, the host Eagles used a 12-play, 47-yard drive to put Cardelle is position for a 24-yard field goal with 2:12 remaining in the first half.

Cardelle kicked his third field goal of the first half from 39 yards out with just 21 seconds left before intermission to give NCCU a 38-0 halftime advantage.

In the second half of play, NCCU scored two touchdowns, both on special teams. At 6:43 of the third quarter, freshman Arthur Goforth broke several tackles and zigzagged his way down the field for a 47-yard score, accounting for the school's first punt return for a touchdown since Oct. 8, 2005.

With 3:03 left in the game, NCCU special teams captain Anthony Sharpe blocked a punt attempt and red-shirt freshman Malik Cromartie caught it out of the air a dashed 11 yards into the end zone for the final Eagle score.

After NCCU posted 52 unanswered points, CMU continued to battle and eliminated the shutout by scoring with 27 seconds remaining on a 19-yard pass from reserve quarterback Logan Cornish to Brandon Merritt.

Shankle finished with 93 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while adding four catches for 38 yards. Michael Johnson completed 15-of-20 passes for 218 yards and two scores. Andrew Johnson collected five receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown, while Irvine had three catches for 62 yards and a trip to pay-dirt.

The NCCU defense held CMU to 93 total yards, forced four turnovers and recorded 11 tackles for a loss, including three sacks. Besides the aforementioned Hillie pick, Brian Frierson, Rashad Fox and James Reese all tallied interceptions in the win. Linebackers Alex Winters and Rakeem Vick led the way with five takedowns each, while Thomas Wallace, Ja'Quez Canty and Deshawn Bowden added four stops apiece.

Cardelle made three field goals, kicked five PATs and threw for a two-point conversion to account for 16 points.

CMU (5-2) was topped by junior linebacker Tim Cummins with a game-high 11 tackles, including an assisted sack.

NCCU now has a week off before returning to O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Oct. 31 for Homecoming versus Central State University at 1:30 p.m.