ATLANTA – North Carolina Central University's historic gridiron season came to a heartbreaking end in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, as the upset-minded Eagles suffered a 10-9 loss to Grambling State University in the Georgia Dome on Saturday afternoon.
No. 18 NCCU (9-3) held No. 14 Grambling (11-1) to less than half of its lowest-scoring game this season (previous low of 21 points) and the Tigers' fewest points in a contest since Sept. 6, 2014 – a 47-0 loss at Houston. However, a handful of miscues, including a blocked extra-point kick the would have tied the score with a little more than two minutes remaining in the contest, proved to be the difference.
On the opening possession of the game, Grambling quarterback DeVante Kincade's pass into the end zone was deflected by
Jaquell Taylor and intercepted by
Alden McClellon for a touchback.
On its ensuing drive, NCCU marched 74 yards on 13 plays to kick a 23-yard field goal by
Brandon McLaren for a 3-0 advantage. That edge stood at halftime.
Grambling got on the scoreboard with 9:14 left in the third quarter courtesy of a 32-yard touchdown run by Martez Carter to take a 7-3 lead over the Eagles.
The Tigers added a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Wallace, which was set up by a sack-fumble recovery, to push the cushion to 10-3 at 2:50 of the third frame.
Late in the fourth quarter, needing a touchdown drive to tie the game, the Eagles regained possession of the ball with 4:03 on the clock. NCCU quarterback
Malcolm Bell rushed for seven yards, then connected with
Jalen Wilkes for 15 yards to move the pigskin to the Grambling 37-yard line. On third down and 12 to go, Bell scrambled out of the pocket and found
Quentin Atkinson in the back of the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the scoring play moved the extra-point kick back 15 yards, then McLaren's extended 1-point try was blocked to preserve the win for the Tigers.
Bell accounted for 271 yards of total offense, completing 18-of-32 passes for 240 yards and rushing for a team-best 31 ground yards.
NCCU wide receiver
Khalil Stinson returned to his home state with six receptions for 40 yards, while
LaVontis Smith caught four passes for 82 yards.
Linebacker
Reggie Hunter tallied a game-high 11 tackles, including a stop for a loss, to finish the season with a team-best 84 takedowns. Taylor contributed nine tackles and McClellon had eight stops with an interception and two pass break-ups.
Antonio Brown,
Frederick Henry-Ajudua and
LeGrande Harley each recorded sacks for NCCU.
NCCU's 301 yards of total offense against Gambling provided the Eagles with 4,614 yards of total offense this season, which is a new school record, breaking the standard of 4,500 total yards in 1993.
The 2016 Eagles made more history this season by becoming the first NCCU football team to win a third consecutive conference championship and posted the most wins (9) in the program's Division I era.
