Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Video:  Weekly Press Conference (http://youtu.be/0TTLohG1IXI)     

THE GAME
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Hampton University "Pirates"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, November 9, 2013 – Kickoff at 1:00 p.m.

THE SITE
Armstrong Stadium (12,000 capacity/Natural Grass) - Hampton, Va.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (4-5 overall, 2-3 MEAC); Hampton (3-6 overall, 3-2 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network mobile app (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, Kindle Fire HD); "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 12:30 p.m. (Chris Hooks, play-by-play; Joe Simmons, color analyst).

QUICK HITS
• NCCU needs a win against Hampton to keep the opportunity for a winning season alive.
• After opening the season with five straight losses, Hampton has won three of its last four games.
• Game features MEAC's top two all-purpose players (Adrian Wilkins, NCCU / Jorrian Washington, Hampton) and top two tacklers (Tazmon Foster, NCCU / Delbert Tyler, Hampton).
• NCCU is the only team in the nation (FCS) with three kickoff return touchdowns.
• NCCU's 11 special teams touchdowns in the past two seasons (7 PR, 4 KOR) equal the amount by the Eagles in the previous nine seasons combined (11 from 2003-11).
• NCCU has been out-scored 69-19 in the first quarter this season. The Eagles are 3-0 when they have scored in the first quarter.
• NCCU sophomore Adrian Wilkins (Forest City, N.C.) tops the MEAC in both kickoff returns (29.1 yards per return) and all-purpose yards (139.1 yards per game), and has scored touchdowns on two kickoff returns (100, 91 yards), two punt returns (89, 73 yards) and two receptions. He is the only Eagle in the NCCU record books with a kickoff return touchdown, a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same season. Wilkins is the only student-athlete in the NCAA Division I-FCS with four special teams return touchdowns.
• NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster (Henderson, N.C.), who amassed 80 tackles in eight games last season, is the leading tackler in the MEAC with 110 takedowns, which ranks second in the nation (FCS).
• Hampton junior Jorrian Washington leads the Pirates in rushing (468 yards, 7.1 yards per carry) and kickoff returns (24.4 yard avg.), and is second on the squad in receiving (25 receptions, 186 yards, 2 TDs) for an average of 118.8 all-purpose yards per game.

THE SERIES
This will be the 24th football meeting between North Carolina Central University and Hampton University since the teams first met in 1924. Hampton leads the series 17-6. The Pirates have won seven of the past eight meetings, with NCCU ending the drought against Hampton last year in Durham, N.C., by a score of 37-20.

10/18/2012 - NCCU 37, Hampton 20 (Durham, N.C.)
10/22/2011 - Hampton 30, NCCU 27 OT (Hampton, Va.)
10/9/2010 - Hampton 27, NCCU 13 (Durham, N.C.)
9/5/2009 - Hampton 31, NCCU 24 (Hampton, Va.)
11/14/1992 - Hampton 31, NCCU 19 (Hampton, Va.)
11/16/1991 - Hampton 44, NCCU 28 (Durham, N.C.)
9/29/1990 - Hampton 33, NCCU 21 (Hampton, Va.)
9/30/1989 - Hampton 27, NCCU 7 (Durham, N.C.)
9/22/1984 - Hampton 17, NCCU 13 (Hampton, Va.)
9/24/1983 - NCCU 24, Hampton 20 (Durham, N.C.)
10/2/1954 - NCCU 28, Hampton 0 (Hampton, Va.)
10/3/1953 - NCCU 25, Hampton 0 (Hampton, Va.)
10/4/1952 - NCCU 21, Hampton 12 (Hampton, Va.)
9/29/1951 - NCCU 28, Hampton 6 (Durham, N.C.)
10/5/1935 - Hampton 31, NCCU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
10/20/1934 - Hampton 20, NCCU 0 (Hampton, Va.)
9/29/1933 - Hampton 7, NCCU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
10/1/1932 - Hampton 19, NCCU 0 (Hampton, Va.)
10/3/1931 - Hampton 24, NCCU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
10/26/1929 - Hampton 25, NCCU 0 (Hampton, Va.)
11/3/1928 - Hampton 38, NCCU 7 (Durham, N.C.)
10/16/1926 - Hampton 20, NCCU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
1924 - Hampton 31, NCCU 0

THE LAST MEETING
(Oct. 18, 2012 - NCCU 37, Hampton 20)  A near capacity crowd inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium and an ESPNU national television audience watched North Carolina Central University win its fourth game in a row with a 37-20 victory over Hampton University on Thursday night Oct. 18, 2012. NCCU scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game – offense, defense and special teams. And the Eagles chipped in a field goal for good measure. An overpowering NCCU defense forced four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries) and tackled 12 Hampton ball-carriers behind the line of scrimmage, including eight quarterback sacks. The defensive play of the night, which was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10, was turned in by linebacker Tazmon Foster, who intercepted a pass and broke three tackles on the way to the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown. Foster added a fumble recovery and tied for the team lead with eight takedowns. NCCU quarterback Jordan Reid threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 11-for-22 passing. He found senior receiver Geovonie Irvine four times for 99 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown connection that provided the Eagles with a 20-3 halftime advantage. A 20-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Oleg Parent increased the lead to 23-3 midway through the third quarter. However, Hampton made the game interesting with 17 unanswered points to trim the deficit to 23-20 on a 38-yard touchdown scamper by Pirates' running back Jeremiah Schwartz, who finished the contest with 129 ground yards and a pair of scores. On the ensuing kickoff, NCCU senior play-maker Arthur Goforth electrified the crowd of 9,648 with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to slam the momentum back into the Eagles' favor with 9:09 remaining in the contest. A 20-yard touchdown pass from Reid to senior running back Gary Douglas sealed the victory.

LAST WEEK
(#13 Bethune-Cookman 38, NCCU 14) The No. 13 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats pounded out 436 rushing yards, powered by senior running back Isidore Jackson's 182 ground yards to become the program's all-time leading rusher, during a convincing 38-14 win over North Carolina Central University on Saturday inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C.  Bethune-Cookman (8-1, 5-0 MEAC) overcame 24 penalties for 232 yards by amassing 594 yards of total offense to remain unbeaten in conference play. The defending MEAC champions also held NCCU to only 137 total yards, including negative-1 yard rushing. NCCU was held scoreless until 12:16 left in the contest when senior Thomas Dixon returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, marking the fifth special teams touchdown by the Eagles this season and tying teammate Adrian Wilkins for the second-longest kickoff return in school history. The Eagles scored again with less than four minutes remaining when sophomore Kevin Thompson recorded his first career touchdown with a 6-yard run. NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster collected a game-high and career-best 18 tackles, including 2.0 hits for a loss with a sack and a forced fumble. He now has 110 tackles and three forced fumbles this season to lead the Eagles.

(Morgan State 30, Hampton 27)  Hampton took a late lead, but Morgan State staged a comeback to win 30-27 and snap the Pirates' three-game winning streak. Morgan State led 23-20 early in the fourth quarter, but the Pirates drove 76 yards in six plays, taking a 27-23 lead after senior running back Antwon Chisholm busted out a 58-yard touchdown run. It was the third straight score of the second half for Hampton. Morgan State only scored once in the second half, but it came with 26 seconds left in regulation and it was the game-winner.

THE COACHES
North Carolina Central: Dwayne Foster (Delaware State, 1993) joined NCCU in 2011 as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, before being elevated to interim head coach prior to the 2013 season. Previously, he served as running backs coach at Prairie View A&M University (2005-10), tight ends and running backs coach at Catholic University (2004), and offensive line coach at Bowie State University (2003). Foster made his name on the high school level in Washington, D.C., as the head coach of Archbishop Carroll High School from 1997-2003. At Archbishop, Foster received coach of the year honors by the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Committee in 1998. Foster played college football at Delaware State University from 1989-93 and helped the Hornets capture two MEAC Championships during his freshmen and junior seasons before graduating in 1993. Foster is a member of the Black Coaches and American Football Coaches Associations, was part of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program in 2010 with the Buffalo Bills and in 2012 with the Cincinnati Bengals, and participated in the NCAA Men's Football Coaching Academy in Indianapolis, Ind., in June 2006.

Hampton: Donovan Rose is in his 23rd season with the Hampton University football program and the fifth as head coach. He was selected as the 2003 AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year in Division I-AA and the All-American Football Foundation Mike Campbell Top Assistant Coach Award. A 1979 graduate of Hampton University, Rose was an All-CIAA performer who was named the conference defensive player of the year during his senior year. Donovan also earned All-American honors and was named a starter and captain on the 1978 All-Star Team, which was played in New Orleans Super Dome. He later signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent in 1980, and also played for several championship teams in the Canadian Football League, winning the Grey Cup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1984. In 1986, he joined the Miami Dolphins and led the team in interceptions. Rose retired from Miami in 1988.

WILKINS TOPS MEAC IN ALL-PURPOSE YARDS; KNACK FOR BIG PLAYS
NCCU sophomore receiver and return specialist Adrian Wilkins (Forest City, N.C.) leads the MEAC with an average of 139.1 all-purpose yards per game. He is the only student-athlete in the NCAA Division I-FCS with four special teams returns for touchdowns (2 kickoff, 2 punt). Wilkins also leads the league in kickoff return yards with an average of 29.1 per return. Wilkins has a knack for making big plays. He owns the second-longest kickoff return (100 yards at Charlotte, Sept. 14, 2013) and punt return (89 yards at Howard, Oct. 5, 2013) in school history. As a receiver, Wilkins has caught 30 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns. He is the only Eagle in the NCCU record books with a kickoff return touchdown, a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same season.

NCCU'S FOSTER TOPS CONFERENCE IN TACKLES, SECOND IN FCS
NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster leads the MEAC and ranks second in NCAA Division I-FCS with an average of 12.2 tackles per game (110 total tackles). A 5-10, 215-pound native of Henderson, N.C., Foster amassed a career-high 18 tackles (12 solo), including 2.0 hits for a loss with a solo sack, along with a forced fumble against No. 13 Bethune-Cookman. In just 17 games with the Eagles, the linebacker has totaled 190 tackles and has two touchdowns to his credit with fumble and interception returns to the end zone.

EAGLES TURNING DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS INTO POINTS Since the start of the 2012 season, the Eagles have demonstrated a knack for finding the end zone when the offense is off the field. In the past 20 games, NCCU has scored 17 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including seven this season and 10 in 2012. In that time, the Eagles have made trips to the end zone on seven punt returns, four kickoff returns, two blocked field goal returns, three interceptions and a fumble recovery. NCCU's 11 special teams touchdowns in the past two seasons (7 PR, 4 KOR) equal the amount by the Eagles in the previous nine seasons combined (11 from 2003-11).