Senior Day always makes for a big game for a college or even a high school football team.

But Saturday’s meeting with Old Dominion at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium means even more for North Carolina Central University.

It will be the final game for the football seniors of 2010, the last of four straight NCCU classes that had no chance to play for conference or NCAA championships.

Next season’s team will be in the MEAC and will be eligible to win the national championship in the NCAA’s Division I Football Championship Subdivision. But this team, which will take a 3-7 record into the contest against the 7-3 Monarchs, has spent this season playing for Eagle Pride. Sometimes even amplified.

It has been a tough one, as the Eagles’ only wins have been over old CIAA rival Johnson C. Smith, over ancient archrival North Carolina A&T and over homecoming opponent Edward Waters — all at O’Kelly-Riddick. They even went through a coaching change during the campaign, as interim coach Darryl Bullock replaced Mose Rison with five games left in the season.

“This senior class is very special,” Bullock said of the 13 young men who will play their final game in Maroon and Gray on Saturday. “They’re special to me, not only because I took over as head coach, but their leadership has been good. These are the type of individuals that were years beyond their age when they were freshmen and sophomores and maybe acted more mature than their classmates. The leadership from captains Donald Laster, Tim Shankle and Anthony Sharp has been tremendous even through the transition in midseason here.

“They haven’t wavered. They (the captains) were the first people I met with even before the coaches when the transition took place that Monday (Oct. 18). It was fall break and they were around and they were great in helping me as I was trying to establish some new precedents and a new way of doing things as head coach. And the thing is that some of those seniors were redshirted and remember that 2006 season under Coach (Rod) Broadway.”

The Eagles went 11-1 in their final Division II season, winning their second straight CIAA title and the Black National Championship.

Guard Eric Stanley played on that team while Laster, Shankle, Sharp and defensive back #Ja’Quez Canty# redshirted.

The Eagles went 6-4 in 2007 before finishing 4-7 in 2008 and 2009. Along the way the team has had some very tough challenges, visiting Duke and fellow Division I-FBS member Western Kentucky, and national FCS powers James Madison and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo along with two visits to legendary FCS power Appalachian State.

Also playing their final game on Saturday will be starting quarterback Keon Williams, running backs Tony McCord and Justin Campbell, heavily decorated defensive lineman Teryl White, linebackers Calvin Hillie and Kenneth Campbell, defensive back Rashad Fox, and offensive lineman Mario Brice.

Shankle, a parks and recreation administration major from Gainesville, Fla., is fifth on the NCCU all-time rushing list with 2,340 yards.

“It’s meant a lot to me to come in and see how the university has developed,” Shankle said of his time at NCCU. “I didn’t really know that much about HBCUs coming into college. It’s just been a great experience.

“The coaching changes, I can’t say it’s been a bad thing but it’s been an experience that’s set me up for life, not having everything go your way and dealing with different things. It’s been very different, but it’s been a big blessing to have all those coaches in my life.

“Coach Broadway believed in me and brought me in. Coach Rison and I developed a relationship and he gave me a chance to play here and accumulate the stats I have. Then Coach Bullock took over and really liked the way I was physical running the ball. It allowed me to see three different head coaches’ visions. I would like to go into coaching, so having those three coaches be mentors and see the other (assistant) coaches has just been a blessing.”

Laster, also a parks and recreation administration major, who is from Shaker Heights, Ohio, was named the preseason All-FCS Independent defensive player of the year by Lindy’s Sports.

“This experience has shaped me into the man I am today,” Laster said. “It’s been good and bad at the same time. It shapes you for what’s in store in life.

“I’ve been able to be here five years and understand how not just the athletics have changed but the campus has changed. There are a lot of buildings here that weren’t here five years ago. It’s been great to see NCCU evolve totally, not just with athletics.”

Special teams captain Sharp, one of the smallest linebackers in Division I, came to NCCU from East Chapel Hill High.

“Just coming in from a high school that didn’t win a lot of games, I had the burden of trying to carry some kind of team morale then,” Sharp said. “When I first got here I was recruited as an ‘athlete’ after playing running back and then not playing cornerback until my senior year.

“I started off as a cornerback here, but it was different here than in high school. Then I moved to safety and then linebacker. That was a different experience for me. I just soaked it up and learned a lot of different things. It’s been a great learning experience. Coach Rison believed in me. When he left it was rough on the team, but when Coach Bullock became head coach it was a good experience.”

Shankle said when he was being recruited by Broadway’s staff, the coaches sold him on the transition to Division I.

“I came in and had to earn my scholarship academically,” he explained. “Now I’m a better student in college than I was in high school.”

Laster said playing at NCCU offered him a second chance in life.

“I really didn’t care about that (championship) at the time,” he said. “All I really wanted to do was play football. I had gotten into some trouble coming out of high school, and Central was willing to take a chance on me. Football has really blessed me and brought me out of being a wild, dumb kid. Central and God gave me another chance to straighten up.”

Sharp had an inside track to become an Eagle.

“I had played with Kenny Broadway, Coach Broadway’s son, at East Chapel Hill and he helped me get an offer here,” Sharp said. “I really was happy about coming to this school. I just wanted to play football and get to be with these guys and the coaches.

“I’m definitely here because of football, but once I got here it kind of changed my mentality a whole lot, making school a top priority. I learned that football is not always going to be here, but it has taken me places I never thought I could go.”

Shankle said the senior game is going to mean a lot to him personally.

“It’s going to mean a lot playing my last game at Central,” Shankle said. “It’s going to be hard just walking out there. But coming to North Carolina Central has made me a much better person. This has been a hard season, but I still get to see these guys’ faces and my coaches’ faces one more time and represent the university. They’re going to win in the future, and I’m looking forward to coming back as an alumnus and seeing what they can do. We’ve already been to the bottom, and they’ll know they can compete for championships.”

Added Laster, “It’s going to be hard to go out there thinking I may never play football again, because it’s not given to you. But I’ll know I was one of the guys who laid down the foundation for something great.”

Sharp said the emotion of seeing his college football career end just hit him over the last few days.

“It’s going to be emotional, because we’ve been living a dream that’s coming to its end,” Sharp said. “We’ve started a new legacy. You think about the wins and losses, but I know I’m always going to share the memories with these guys and the people that I’ve met. I’ve learned a lot of love for this university and what it stands for. Saturday is going to be a heck of a ride.”