TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The North Carolina Central University football program racked up the points again Saturday afternoon at Bragg Memorial Stadium, defeating former conference foe Florida A&M 45-7.
The Eagles (5-2) have won four straight games, scoring at least 45 in each of those contests.
The Eagles got on the board first when tight end Rodney Lesane caught his first touchdown pass, a 13-yard strike from quarterback Walker Harris to cap an 11-play, 90-yard drive to go up 7-0 at the 4:02 mark of the first quarter.Â
Eric Adams added six more for NCCU with a pick-six in the second quarter. He jumped in front of a slant route and took the ball 33 yards to the end zone, giving the Eagles a 13-0 lead.Â
It marked the Eagles' first interception touchdown return since Tomondrey Braxton recorded a pick-six against Fayetteville State on Sept. 13.
Refeno Vangates added another score in the second quarter, picking up his first touchdown of the season on a 4-yard reception from Harris to make it 21-0 Eagles with 5:17 remaining in the first half.
Running back Arthur Rodgers added another score from one yard out just before the half to give NCCU a 28-0 lead at the break. Â
Florida A&M (1-4) opened the second half with an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped with a 1-yard run by Thad Franklin to put the Rattlers on the board and cutting the Eagles' lead to 28-7.Â
After a wild play resulting in an interception by Christian Smith on the Rattlers' next drive, the Eagles quickly advanced 52 yards in just five plays before extending their lead when Harris ran the ball himself from one yard out.
After that sequence, the Eagles led 35-7.
Not to be outdone, running back Chris Mosely scored his first touchdown of the game after sprinting 50 yards around the edge to make it a 42-7 lead with 13:35 left in the fourth quarter.
Robison then brought the game to its final margin, 45-7 with a 30-yard field goal not even three minutes later.
NCCU racked up 486 yards of total offense, 195 of which came on the ground. They have recorded at least 450 yards of total offense in each of the last four games.
The Eagles' defense was also stout, holding the Rattlers to just 197 total yards and recording a season-high three interceptions.
This marked the first time this season that NCCU has held an opponent under 200 yards of total offense, and the first time since the Eagles held Howard to just 121 total yards last season.
The Eagles will be idle again this coming weekend, then they will open conference play on Saturday, Oct. 25, when they return to O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium to take on Delaware State at 1 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.
