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DURHAM, N.C. – In front of a school record crowd of 15,173, North Carolina Central University took advantage of seven North Carolina A&T turnovers and 120 penalty yards to capture a 27-16 victory inside an overflowing O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C. The contest was the first in the series to be played in the Bull City since 1992.

In the 82nd meeting between the rival Eagles and Aggies, the tone of the game was established in the first four possessions of the contest. After the two squads exchanged missed field goals, the visiting Aggies fumbled on their next three possessions. NCCU recovered the pigskin each time, resulting in three consecutive touchdowns in less than four minutes to provide the Eagles with a 21-0 cushion.

NCCU senior linebacker Donald Laster pounced on the first fumble to stop an A&T drive at the Eagles’ 34-yard line. Six plays later, senior running back Tim Shankle broke several tackles and bulled his way into the end zone from 17 yards out. Frankie Cardelle’s extra-point kick put the Eagles up 7-0 with 4:08 left in the first quarter.

Just two plays into A&T’s next possession, a shotgun snap sailed over the head of quarterback Shelton Morgan and Laster scooped up the loose ball for his second fumble recovery to place the Eagles’ offense only 12 yards from pay dirt. After losing a yard on the first play, junior quarterback Michael Johnson drilled a pass to sophomore receiver Decona Roberts for a 13-yard touchdown at the 2:35 mark of the first quarter.

The Aggies fumbled on the ensuing kickoff return and once again the Eagles recovered. This time it was red-shirt freshman Stanley Wright collecting the bouncing pigskin at the A&T 32-yard line. The drive opened with a 26-yard pass play from Johnson to running back Tony McCord all the way to the Aggies’ 6-yard line. McCord ran the ball to the 1-yard line, followed by a quarterback sneak by Johnson for the score with 22 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. Cardelle’s extra-point kick capped 21 unanswered points in a span of three minutes, 46 seconds.

A&T responded by using a pair of pass interference calls to set up a 32-yard field goal by rookie kicker Sullivan Shidler to put the Aggies on the scoreboard at 13:15 of the second quarter.

NCCU senior Tony McCord returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the A&T 40-yard line, but the drive stalled at the 27-yard line and a 44-yard field goal try by Cardelle missed wide right.

The Aggies took just six plays to move 73 yards, the final six yards courtesy of a touchdown scamper by junior running back Mike Mayhew at the 7:52 mark of the second quarter. NCCU senior Kenneth Campbell blasted through the line to block the extra-point kick to keep the score at 21-9 in favor of the home team.

On NCCU’s next possession, two 15-yard penalties against the Aggies helped the Eagles move into position for a 37-yard field goal by Cardelle to make the score 24-9 at 2:37 of the second quarter.

A&T made things interesting when sophomore Ricky Lewis took a quarterback draw 11 yards into the end zone to make it a one-possession game at 24-16 only 48 seconds before intermission. Mayhew posted runs of 16 and 15 yards during the six-play, 70-yard scoring drive for the Aggies.

On the kickoff return, A&T committed another personal foul penalty to allow the Eagles to start inside Aggie territory at the 43-yard line. Using only a 7-yard completion to tight end Earthan Ward and a 12-yard scramble by Johnson, NCCU was able to tack on a 41-yard field goal by Cardelle with just six ticks left in the first half to increase its lead to 27-16.

Neither team scored in the second half. After the break, A&T lost its fourth and fifth fumbles on the night, while also throwing a pair of interceptions. NCCU played it safe offensively with only two passes and 25 rushes during the final two quarters.

NCCU finished with 231 yards of total offense (117 rushing, 114 passing), compared to 320 total yards by the Aggies (211 rushing, 109 passing).

Shankle topped the Eagles’ ground attack with 86 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, becoming the seventh rusher in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards (2,070). McCord amassed 150 all-purpose yards, including 38 yards rushing, a team-high 42 yards receiving and 70 kickoff return yards.

Johnson completed 9 of his 14 passes for 114 yards and his first touchdown toss of the season, while also running for a score.

NCCU had a host of heroes on defense. Defensive backs Rashad Fox and James Reese led the unit with seven tackles each, followed by Marc Lewis with six stops (five solo). Linebacker Roger Stewart contributed six takedowns with a fumble recovery, while lineman Teryl White tallied five tackles, including 2.0 hits for a loss and a forced fumble. Laster collected three stops with a sack a two fumble recoveries, Sam Battle added four tackles and a fumble recovery, and Stephen Manuel chipped in three takedowns with a sack. The Eagles sealed the victory with two late interceptions by Campbell and David Ingram.

A&T was charged by Mayhew with 183 rushing yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, an average of 7.6 yards per attempt.

Morgan completed 12-of-23 passes for 109 yards for the Aggies, but threw a pair of picks and lost a fumble.

A&T senior linebacker Brandon Jackson amassed a game-high 10 tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.

The Eagles have now won four of the last five meetings against the Aggies.

NCCU heads into an off week with a 2-2 record, while A&T remains winless at 0-4.