By MATT AGNOLI, The Herald-Sun
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tim Shankle hardly could suppress a smile when asked about his performance. After all, the freshman running back had no idea his talents would shine so soon and in a game dubbed the "Battle for North Carolina."
Inside a cauldron of wind at Giants Stadium, N.C. Central sacked its West Coast offense late in the game and summoned Shankle, who said he was inspired by a late-night call from injured senior back Jeff Toliver.
Shankle answered by rushing for a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, lifting the Eagles (3-1) to an 18-10 victory in front of 43,006 fans at the New York Urban League's Whitney Young Classic.
NCCU improved to 19-8 all-time against the Vikings (0-3), and have won nine of the last 11 meetings against their rivals.
"I never thought Tim Shankle would be in this position," said NCCU coach Mose Rison, who improved to 3-1 overall in his first season.
"After we lost Jeff [Toliver], I talked to 'Shank' and said 'You are due to have a breakout game.' Being a freshman and forced in this position earlier than we thought it would be, he did an outstanding job."
NCCU looked to the running game late. On their final scoring drive early in the fourth, Rison called for the run on seven straight plays. Shankle rewarded his coach, lunging over the defensive line for a 2-yard run, his first collegiate touchdown.
"I wanted to run the ball well," said Shankle, who's a bruiser at 5-10 and 220 pounds. "I wanted to have a big game."
In his telephone conversation with Toliver, the injured back told Shankle to keep his head upfield and to always look for open spaces. And most importantly, hold onto the ball.
"He said that the running game will open up sooner or later, and my offensive line came ready to play today," Shankle said.
NCCU lost a ton of talent off its offensive line from a year ago, but they opened up enough holes to dominate the battle in the trenches.
Defensively, the Eagles were opportunistic. Craig Amos was named the defensive player of the game. He recovered a bad snap on a punt attempt in the end zone for a first-quarter scored. Mendez missed left on the extra point.
Offensively, NCCU's freshman sensation from a year ago, quarterback Stadford Brown (10-for-23, 103 yards and a touchdown), didn't miss a beat.
Or, more importantly, Brown protected the ball. Vikings quarterbacks were intercepted three times, and a lot more were left on the table because of drops by NCCU defensive backs.
But Brown again showed poise in directing the Eagles to the win. A good mix of run and pass kept their opponents off balance, resulting in the Eagles finishing 7-of-18 on third-down conversions.
"Stadford got it going," Rison said. "He was seeing the field extremely well. ... He was directing traffic like he always does. He is a tremendous football player and is the reason we always have a chance to win on Saturday."
Brown was at his best in the spread offense. With his team trailing 7-6, Brown calmly engineered a quarter-eating 12-play, 65-yard drive before the half.
Using his fleet feet and sturdy arm, he set up the offense inside the red zone with consecutive scrambles, finishing the surge when he hit Wayne Blackwell (three receptions, 30 yards) crossing over the middle for a 9-yard touchdown. Eagles place kicker Taylor gray had his extra point blocked, his third miss of the game. NCCU's all-time scoring leader Brandon Gilbert is out for the season with a leg injury.
Good thing it didn't matter.
The Vikings, looking for a late spark, substituted in their third quarterback in Dominic Strand (4-for-10, 50 yards). With 3:50 left in the fourth, he led a drive that resulted in a 26-yard field goal from Daniel Mendez to shave their deficit to 18-10.
Rison knew that without his injured kicker, getting a comfortable lead was a decisive edge.
"We didn't want to make this a game where this was decided by a field goal," he said.
With help from the freshman, the Eagles survived without having some of their starters.
"It's a young football team, and these guys have been forced into some roles that would not have been there if not for some situations happened," said Rison. "But they're growing up fast, and that's all you can ask."
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tim Shankle hardly could suppress a smile when asked about his performance. After all, the freshman running back had no idea his talents would shine so soon and in a game dubbed the "Battle for North Carolina."
Inside a cauldron of wind at Giants Stadium, N.C. Central sacked its West Coast offense late in the game and summoned Shankle, who said he was inspired by a late-night call from injured senior back Jeff Toliver.
Shankle answered by rushing for a career-high 124 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, lifting the Eagles (3-1) to an 18-10 victory in front of 43,006 fans at the New York Urban League's Whitney Young Classic.
NCCU improved to 19-8 all-time against the Vikings (0-3), and have won nine of the last 11 meetings against their rivals.
"I never thought Tim Shankle would be in this position," said NCCU coach Mose Rison, who improved to 3-1 overall in his first season.
"After we lost Jeff [Toliver], I talked to 'Shank' and said 'You are due to have a breakout game.' Being a freshman and forced in this position earlier than we thought it would be, he did an outstanding job."
NCCU looked to the running game late. On their final scoring drive early in the fourth, Rison called for the run on seven straight plays. Shankle rewarded his coach, lunging over the defensive line for a 2-yard run, his first collegiate touchdown.
"I wanted to run the ball well," said Shankle, who's a bruiser at 5-10 and 220 pounds. "I wanted to have a big game."
In his telephone conversation with Toliver, the injured back told Shankle to keep his head upfield and to always look for open spaces. And most importantly, hold onto the ball.
"He said that the running game will open up sooner or later, and my offensive line came ready to play today," Shankle said.
NCCU lost a ton of talent off its offensive line from a year ago, but they opened up enough holes to dominate the battle in the trenches.
Defensively, the Eagles were opportunistic. Craig Amos was named the defensive player of the game. He recovered a bad snap on a punt attempt in the end zone for a first-quarter scored. Mendez missed left on the extra point.
Offensively, NCCU's freshman sensation from a year ago, quarterback Stadford Brown (10-for-23, 103 yards and a touchdown), didn't miss a beat.
Or, more importantly, Brown protected the ball. Vikings quarterbacks were intercepted three times, and a lot more were left on the table because of drops by NCCU defensive backs.
But Brown again showed poise in directing the Eagles to the win. A good mix of run and pass kept their opponents off balance, resulting in the Eagles finishing 7-of-18 on third-down conversions.
"Stadford got it going," Rison said. "He was seeing the field extremely well. ... He was directing traffic like he always does. He is a tremendous football player and is the reason we always have a chance to win on Saturday."
Brown was at his best in the spread offense. With his team trailing 7-6, Brown calmly engineered a quarter-eating 12-play, 65-yard drive before the half.
Using his fleet feet and sturdy arm, he set up the offense inside the red zone with consecutive scrambles, finishing the surge when he hit Wayne Blackwell (three receptions, 30 yards) crossing over the middle for a 9-yard touchdown. Eagles place kicker Taylor gray had his extra point blocked, his third miss of the game. NCCU's all-time scoring leader Brandon Gilbert is out for the season with a leg injury.
Good thing it didn't matter.
The Vikings, looking for a late spark, substituted in their third quarterback in Dominic Strand (4-for-10, 50 yards). With 3:50 left in the fourth, he led a drive that resulted in a 26-yard field goal from Daniel Mendez to shave their deficit to 18-10.
Rison knew that without his injured kicker, getting a comfortable lead was a decisive edge.
"We didn't want to make this a game where this was decided by a field goal," he said.
With help from the freshman, the Eagles survived without having some of their starters.
"It's a young football team, and these guys have been forced into some roles that would not have been there if not for some situations happened," said Rison. "But they're growing up fast, and that's all you can ask."
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