Nov. 21, 2009

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DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University's seniors stole the show on Senior Day, leading the Eagles to a 35-14 season-ending win over Savannah State University at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C. on Saturday.

The victory was the fourth in the last five games for NCCU, as the Eagles complete their third season of Division I competition with a 4-7 record.

NCCU senior receiver Will Scott caught seven passes for 120 yards and equaled a career-best with three touchdowns. Among the school's leading receivers, Scott finished his career ranked eighth with 121 receptions, sixth with 1,975 receiving yards and tied for fifth with 19 touchdown catches.

Senior safety Derek Harvey amassed a career-high 15 tackles, more than any other Eagle in the past two-and-a-half seasons, while adding an assisted sack. Senior linebacker Alex Winters also had a career day with 11 tackles, including takedown behind the line of scrimmage.

Two other seniors playing in their final college game, offensive tackle Gabriel Manns and fullback Saeed Abdul-Azeez, helped pave the way for NCCU to record 416 yards of total offense.

Three NCCU juniors also had big performances on defense. Linebacker Donald Laster seemed to be in the Tiger backfield all day, recording 11 tackles (6 solo), including 2.5 hits for a loss with 1.5 sacks, and an astounding five quarterback hurries. Fellow linebacker Calvin Hillie added eight stops, while defensive tackle Teryl White had eight tackles with 2.0 hits for a loss.

NCCU red-shirt sophomore quarterback Michael Johnson completed 15-of-22 passes for 233 yards and a career-high four touchdowns against the Tigers to finish his second season under center with 1,931 passing yards. Only four other NCCU quarterbacks (Earl Harvey, Stadford Brown, Brad McAdams and Adrian Warren) have thrown for more yards in a single season.

Savannah State (2-8) was led by sophomore quarterback Kurvin Curry with 254 yards of total offense, including 173 yards and a touchdown through the air and 81 yards and another score on the ground.

NCCU wasted little time lighting the scoreboard, as Michael Johnson connected with sophomore receiver Andrew Johnson on a 69-yard touchdown pass on the team's first offensive play of the game. Freshman kicker Frankie Cardelle's extra-point kick made the score 7-0 at 8:13 of the first quarter.

SSU responded on its next possession, driving 80 yards on 12 plays with Curry running eight yards for the game-tying score at 2:48 of the opening stanza.

Scott caught the first of his three touchdown passes from 12 yards out at 12:17 of the second quarter to give the Eagles a 14-7 advantage at intermission.

Four plays into the second half, Michael Johnson completed a 56-yard bomb to Scott to give the home team a two-touchdown cushion at 13:18 of the third quarter.

The visiting Tigers narrowed the gap to 21-14 with 4:29 left in the third quarter when Curry hit Deleon Hollinger in the end zone for a 17-yard score.

On NCCU's first snap of the fourth quarter, junior running back Tony McCord broke through the SSU defense and raced 80 yards for a touchdown. The game-changing run was the longest by an Eagle in 13 years (89-yard TD scamper by Shawn Gibbs on Oct. 5, 1996) and the longest offensive play from scrimmage since Darrell Sanders caught an 81-yard pass from Brandon Roberson on Oct. 30, 1999. More importantly, McCord's trip to the end zone put the Eagles up by two touchdowns with 11:34 remaining in the contest.

NCCU sealed the victory with 5:37 on the clock when Scott hauled in a 24-yard pass for his third touchdown of the game. Cardelle's fifth successful PAT kick made the final score 35-14.