Box Score
Postgame Video Interviews:
http://youtu.be/XdHRiTFmuuc
WASHINGTON, D.C. – North Carolina Central University used two special teams touchdowns and a season-high 215 rushing yards to earn a 37-28 road conference victory over Howard University on Saturday inside Greene Stadium in Washington, D.C.
NCCU special teams scored 17 unanswered points to turn a three-point, second-quarter deficit into a 30-14 lead going into the fourth quarter.
It started when NCCU junior kicker Oleg Parent blasted a career-long 48-yard field goal on the last play of the second quarter to put the Eagles ahead 16-14 at halftime. NCCU's first two scores were touchdown runs by Idreis Augustus (6 yards) and Dequadis Tucker (17 yards).
After intermission, NCCU sophomore Adrian Wilkins returned a Bison punt 89 yards for a touchdown, marking the second-longest punt return in school history.
Later in the third quarter, NCCU junior Sayyid Muhammad blocked a field goal try and wisely swatted the ball away from the Bison, allowing teammate Tim Thaniel to scoop up the pigskin and race 50 yards for a touchdown.
Howard gained some momentum with the third touchdown pass by quarterback Greg McGhee at the start of the fourth quarter to trim the Bison deficit to 30-20. However, NCCU quarterback Jordan Reid responded by calling his own number on third-and-one, finding a seam and sprinting 54 yards to the end zone to seal the victory. Reid's 54-yard scamper is the longest by an Eagle in 36 games, dating back to Sept. 11, 2010, when Tony McCord broke off a 93-yard touchdown run versus Winston-Salem State.
With less than two minutes left in the contest, McGhee threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day and his third to receiver Jonathan Booker to make the final score 37-27 in favor of the visiting Eagles.
NCCU finished with a season-best 215 ground yards, topped by Reid's 94 yards and followed by Augustus with 82 yards. Reid also completed 9-of-19 passes for 54 yards.
McGhee amassed 328 passing yards and 48 rushing yards to help the Bison accumulate 467 yards of total offense.
NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster, the leading tackler in the MEAC, collected 12 tackles, while junior safety C.J. Moore also tallied 12 stops. Senior linebacker Tyriqe Williams contributed six takedowns and freshman Michael Jones added five tackles and three passes defended to increase his conference-high season total to 10.
Up next for NCCU (3-2, 1-0 MEAC) is a nationally-televised conference match-up against South Carolina State (4-2, 2-0 MEAC) inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C., which starts at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
