N.C. Central coach Mose Rison is 14-18 after three seasons, and the future continues to look bright. (File photo by Rob Rowe)
N.C. Central’s football season has been over for nearly a week now, and for the second straight season Mose Rison’s club finished with a 4-7 record.
After a tough start in which the Eagles went 0-6 with road defeats to heavily favored Liberty, Appalachian State and Duke, the third-year head coach had set a goal of winning the last five games to finish 5-6. And because of a road defeat at Old Dominion in the ninth game of the season, it didn’t happen.
But what kind of shape is the NCCU program in right now? Reality says it’s pretty good. Continue reading »
NCCU senior Rashad Fox celebrates after he blocks a pass from Savannah State. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
O’KELLY-RIDDICK STADIUM/DURHAM It’s the season football finale at N.C. Central, and so far the whole campaign has been a mixed bag.
NCCU went 0-6 through an extremely tough first “half” of the schedule, in which the Eagles dropped a pair of very winnable games in overtime.
Coach Mose Rison at that point set a goal of winning the last five in a row. Old Dominion derailed that idea two weeks ago, but now the idea is to win four of the last five and match last season’s 4-7 finish.
The opponent is Savannah State (2-7), which is reeling with a couple of losses to teams below the Division I level. NCCU has beaten the Tigers the past two seasons, including the season-ender in Durham last year.
NCCU, shown here taking the field on Homecoming Day, is hoping to send its five seniors out on a good note in Saturday's season finale against visiting Savannah State. (File photo by Rob Rowe).
N.C. Central’s third football season as a transitional member of NCAA Division I (FCS) will come to an end on Saturday afternoon.
And there’s every indication the Eagles will be able to end it on a high note.
The opponent is Savannah State, playing this season as the only other FCS/HBCU team. Somebody should have minted a trophy.
Mose Rison’s Eagles have won close games over the Tigers the last two seasons, and for the second straight year will play SSU at home in the season finale.
Savannah State has applied for admission to the MEAC, the conference in which NCCU will be playing next season although the Eagles won’t yet be eligible for championships.
SSU’s application may have hit a bump not of its own doing in the fall, when Winston-Salem State reversed course and announced plans to give up the ghost on its move to Division I. Continue reading »
PEARSON CAFETERIA/DURHAM N.C. Central finds itself in exactly the same position it was in a year ago.
The Eagles have a 3-7 record going into Saturday’s football season finale at home against Savannah State (2-8).
In 2008 NCCU was looking to win its third game out of its last four on the season, while this time a victory would be its fourth in the last five.
Mose Rison’s club has had its ups and downs this season, but three days ago the Eagles had their best victory so far this year when they won 18-10 at long-time rival Winston-Salem State.
Particularly since the Eagles, in their third season of NCAA Division I as they transition up from Division II, will be going into the MEAC next season while WSSU is giving up the quest and going back to the CIAA. The Eagles’ other two wins had been very much expected, as they came at home against teams below the Division I level.
“It was a rivalry game, and we finally got a road victory,” said Rison (pictured), whose team hadn’t won on the opposing team’s field since a win at Savannah State in 2007. “We broke the (14-game) streak. We hadn’t won a game on the road in two years and got that monkey off our back. It really gives us momentum. If we can carry a two-game winning streak into the off-season, it will be huge for us going into next season. Continue reading »
Eagle head coach Mose Rison watches his team perform at homecoming a few weeks back. (File photo by Rob Rowe)
N.C. Central and Winston-Salem State used to be big rivals for the CIAA football championship.
And on seemingly countless occasions the Rams - when they were coached by Bill Hayes who played for the Eagles, later was NCCU athletics director and is now A.D. at WSSU - put the one blotch on the schedule that ruined the Eagles’ season.
Four years ago the Rams announced they were headed for NCAA Division I, perhaps the last prompting the NCCU administration needed for the Eagles to make the move themselves.
But the Rams’ move had problems all along. First their five-year “transition” phase was extended to six. And then in September, Chancellor Donald Reaves announced the Rams were giving up on that quest and going back to the Division II CIAA.
So whether or not Saturday’s contest at Bowman Gray Stadium will be the schools’ last football meeting for a while is an open question.
Neither team is having a great season. NCCU (2-7) didn’t get some wins it could have had early on for Mose Rison, and firewall victories over NAIA Central Methodist and Division II Central State are what has kept the Eagles from a losing season. Kermit Blount’s WSSU (1-8) beat Bethune-Cookman 16-10 on the road three weeks ago. Continue reading »
N.C. Central’s chances to win its last five games of the season came to an end on Saturday.
But the Eagles almost pulled the game out of the fire.
NCCU overcame a 28-point deficit to tie the game before falling 42-28 at Old Dominion in the Monarchs’ homecoming game at Foreman Field.
Thomas DeMarco stayed on his torrid pace, rushing for 224 yards and four touchdowns and throwing for 169 yards another score for ODU (8-2), which is in its first year of football since 1940.
Michael Johnson (pictured) completed 26 of 42 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns for NCCU (2-7). Geo Irvine caught six of the passes for a game-high 87 yards, while also throwing a touchdown pass to Will Scott. Scott had five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns.
NCCU linebacker Calvin Hillie was in on 12 tackles, also intercepting a pass to set up Tim Shankle’s touchdown with 10:41 left that tied the score at 28-28.
The Eagles got a scare with 8:20 left when tight end Earthan Ward was taken off the field on a medical cart following a frightening hit. But preliminary reports indicated that Ward had not suffered a serious injury.
NCCU will visit long-time rival Winston-Salem State on Nov. 14 before ending its season at home on Nov. 21 against Savannah State.
N.C. Central's offensive unit, with #75 offensive tackle Gabriel Manns the biggest of the bunch, huddles against Duke. (File photo by Rob Rowe),
N.C. Central is going to get a very big test on the football field on Saturday.
The first half of the Eagles’ season was a disappointment. NCCU, facing such monumental challenges as games at Liberty, Appalachian State and Duke, was competitive at times in those conteste but saved its worst play for the weaker opponents.
So the start was 0-6, and at that point Coach Mose Rison challenged his team to win its last five games. NCCU has rolled a couple of inferior opponents at home to improve to 2-6, but the next one is the hard part.
The Eagles will visit Old Dominion (7-2) in the Monarchs’ sold-out 2 p.m. homecoming contest at Foreman Field in Norfolk, Va.
Monarchs coach Bobby Wilder has undoubtedly put together a fine program in two seasons at the helm, including a time last season when the team held practice every day but there were no games and everybody was redshirted.
ODU clearly knows what it’s doing in putting together winning programs, and one of the first things a winning program has to do is win. Continue reading »
North Carolina Central's Michael Johnson scores in the Eagles' win over CSU. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
O’KELLY-RIDDICK STADIUM/DURHAM It’s Homecoming day at N.C. Central, and for Eagles everywhere that means it’s a big game no matter the identity of the opponent.
This time, it’s Central State of Ohio, an Historically Black institution that belongs to the Division II Great Lakes Football Conference.
The Eagles come into the game with a 1-6 record, while CSU is 1-7.
NCCU lost its first six games before a 52-7 home romp over NAIA member Central Methodist two weeks ago, that coming after Rison challenged his team to win its final five games.
The crowd isn’t as big as at some recent homecoming contests, but that may change if the early-afternoon mist subsides. It does, increasing to an SRO situation with 10,319 who see the Eagles roll to a 53-22 win.
NCCU’s first drive is sloppy at times, but effective as quarterback Michael Johnson scrambles untouched down the left sideline 16 yards to complete an 11-play, 72-yard march. Frankie Cardelle’s boot makes it 7-0 at the 10:41 mark.
Back come the Marauders with an eight-play, 59-yard drive, with Joshua Anderson going in from a yard out. The kick is good and it’s 7-7 at 7:58.
NCCU scores again on its next possession but it’s only a field goal, a 32-yard boot from Cardelle to end a 14-play, 58-yard march with 1:01 left in the period.
The Eagles get the game’s first break when Rakeem Vick intercepts a Jeff Brooks pass at the CSU 26. Johnson connects with Will Scott, who cuts across the grain to go all the way before Cardelle adds the boot with 43.2 seconds left in the quarter to make it 17-7. Continue reading »
NCCU free safety Derek Harvey, #20, rallies the troops during the Eagles' game at Duke. (File photo by Rob Rowe.)
N.C. Central football coach Mose Rison issued his team a challenge after the Eagles went 0-6 in the first “half” of their football schedule.
Win the last five games. There is no Duke, Appalachian State or Liberty capable of whipping the Eagles by a big score left on the schedule.
So far, so good.
NCCU easily disposed of NAIA member Central Methodist two weeks ago, and had no trouble at all last week with Open Date.
On Saturday at 1:30 the Eagles will host Division II Central State of Ohio (1-7) in their annual homecoming game, and NCCU will be a heavy favorite.
Things will get tougher next week as NCCU finished with three Division I (Championship Subdivision) opponents. But if the Eagles aren’t 2-6 coming out of Saturday’s contest against E.J. Junior’s Marauders it would be an unmitigated disaster.
“Sometimes it’s hard when you’re the favorite,” Rison said. “You try as a coaching staff not to let the kids get into a comfortable position where they think the game’s already won. That is the message we’ve been sending out to the kids. They’re 1-7 but at the same time we’re 1-6. We need to get our second wind. We still have a sense of urgency. We’ve set a goal for the last five games to win all five. This game happens to be the second one of those and we want to accomplish that goal.
“At the same time it’s homecoming. Our seniors are going to play their last homecoming game for North Carolina Central University. We like to have our seniors go out the right way. It will be meaningful for those kids because it’s winding down. After this week there’ll be three more games for our seniors to play.” Continue reading »
Kyle on "UNC holds off pesky NCCU with big second half, awaits selection committee": Mike Potter does Triangle sports fans a wonderful service by providing a unique perspective of events that may not otherwise receive media coverage. Thanks Mike for all you have done and continue to do in your outstanding career as a journalist and an ambassador for the Triangle.
caniacgirl on "Peters and pipes pickpocket a peck of prickly Penguins": I absolutely love the headline! Games like this one definitely reignite the little bit of playoff hope I have left in me. It should be an interesting few weeks that's for sure.
Greg Nccu Student on "Miller leads NCCU to 11th victory": There are a lot of Rumors on Campus about Joanna Miller leaving NCCU next year. Please Coach Robinson, We need to keep this player from gong to another College.
