By MIKE POTTER, The Herald-Sun
GREENSBORO -- It may not have had the designation this time, but once again N.C. Central's game with rival North Carolina A&T was an Aggie-Eagle classic.
It wasn't decided until the Eagles' Eric Ray intercepted a Herb Miller pass at the goal line with 14 seconds left, preserving the Eagles' 27-22 victory on Saturday night at Aggie Stadium.
The minutes after the game were marred by a scuffle after a large group of NCCU players celebrated on the Bulldog logo at midfield and the Aggies strongly objected. But pepper-spray wielding campus police quickly dispersed the mob.
"I'm not happy about what happened at the end -- I just didn't like the scene," NCCU coach Mose Rison said.
Said N.C. A&T coach Lee Fobbs: "What happened after the game ended was very unfortunate, and we'll deal with it with our guys. I'm just concerned about our players and our fans. We'll let the powers-that-be deal with it."
But before the postgame disturbance, the Eagles won with defense. Three interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, helped NCCU (4-1) overcome A&T's 412-199 advantage in total offense.
"Give credit where credit is due," said Rison, the first NCCU coach to win four of his first five games since Larry Little went 4-1 in 1993. "Coach Fobbs and his staff did an outstanding coaching job, and like I said, they were the best football team we've played this season. But I'm extremely proud of my team. We hung in to the bitter end."
Fobbs also gave his team credit for a good effort.
"We had a chance to win the game right up until the finish and played hard on both sides of the ball," Fobbs said. "We were in position to win it, and then [Eric Ray] stepped up and made a great play.
"That's the game. You've got to take care of the ball."
Eric's brother Derrick Ray returned one interception for a 23-yard score, while true freshman Jeffery Henderson returned another 72 yards for a touchdown.
"The last time both of us got picks was in high school [at Raleigh Millbrook], and we both took them back for touchdowns," Derrick Ray said. "Tonight, we just played good team football on defense and made big plays."
Stadford Brown led the Eagles' offense, completing 11 of 18 passes for 97 yards and the other two touchdowns. Tim Shankle added 66 yards on 14 carries. "I guess I was good enough," Brown said with a smile. "The important thing is that we won."
Northern High alumnus Michael Ferguson led the Aggies with 113 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Two A&T quarterbacks, Shelton Morgan and Miller, combined for 248 passing yards on the night.
"It's really tough to lose this one after we played so well," Ferguson said. "Losing at the end like that is hard. It hurts."
The Eagles scored on their first possession when Brown tossed a short pass up the middle to Will Scott, who sprinted 44 yards for the touchdown to complete a six-play, 65-yard drive. Taylor Gray added his first successful conversion kick, and NCCU led 7-0 with 12:33 left in the quarter.
A&T got on the board with 11:23 left in the half, as Nick Johnson blocked Gray's punt from the NCCU 19 and Gray recovered in the end zone for a safety. The Aggies kept their momentum going on the ensuing possession, going 58 yards in 10 plays with Ferguson taking it in from 1 yard out for A&T's first lead of the season. Eric Houston added the conversion kick, and it was 9-7 with 6:41 left in the half.
But the Eagles recovered with a balanced 14-play, 75-yard drive that included three runs of at least 10 yards from Shankle. Brown connected with Brandon Alston for a 15-yard pass on fourth-and-11 from the A&T 24, and two plays later found tight end Christopher Edwards in the back of the end zone from 4 yards out. Gray added the boot and the Eagles led 14-9 with 48 seconds left in the half.
A&T found some lightning on its first play of the second half, as Ferguson burst up the middle for a 74-yard gain to the Eagles' 16. Dion McNair's 1-yard run completed a seven-play, 89-yard drive and Houston's kick made it 16-14 at 11:30.
The Aggies scored again on their next possession, going 65 yards in nine plays to set up Houston's 27-yard field goal, their first 3-pointer in 17 games.
But the Eagles struck with a big play early in the fourth quarter, as Derrick Ray stepped in front of a Morgan pass intended for David Robinson and rambled down the left sideline for the touchdown. Gray's kick gave the Eagles a 21-19 lead with 12:30 to play.
Four minutes later, they came up with a bigger one, as Henderson intercepted a Morgan pass at his own 28, got several blocks through traffic and finished a 72-yard return. Gray's kick was blocked, leaving the score at 27-19 with 8:30 left.
A&T cut the margin back to 27-22 with 4:51 to go on Houston's 39-yard field goal.
Gray punted into the Aggies' end zone with 2:24 remaining, giving A&T one last chance for victory before the interception sealed the result.
NOTES -- The renewal of the rivalry after a one-year hiatus was NCCU's first game as a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) team against another FCS team. ... A&T (0-4) had its losing streak extended to 20 games, the longest slide in the nation among FCS teams. ... Along with NCCU's 23-22 victory in Raleigh in 2005, the wins were the Eagles' first back-to-back victories in the series since 1987-88. This was the fourth time in the last five meetings in the series that a game had been determined by no more than five points, with NCCU winning three. … A&T leads the series 45-29-5. … The Eagles host Presbyterian on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the schools' first meeting. It will be a matchup between the only two teams in their first season in the FCS. … A&T hosts MEAC foe Norfolk State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
GREENSBORO -- It may not have had the designation this time, but once again N.C. Central's game with rival North Carolina A&T was an Aggie-Eagle classic.
It wasn't decided until the Eagles' Eric Ray intercepted a Herb Miller pass at the goal line with 14 seconds left, preserving the Eagles' 27-22 victory on Saturday night at Aggie Stadium.
The minutes after the game were marred by a scuffle after a large group of NCCU players celebrated on the Bulldog logo at midfield and the Aggies strongly objected. But pepper-spray wielding campus police quickly dispersed the mob.
"I'm not happy about what happened at the end -- I just didn't like the scene," NCCU coach Mose Rison said.
Said N.C. A&T coach Lee Fobbs: "What happened after the game ended was very unfortunate, and we'll deal with it with our guys. I'm just concerned about our players and our fans. We'll let the powers-that-be deal with it."
But before the postgame disturbance, the Eagles won with defense. Three interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, helped NCCU (4-1) overcome A&T's 412-199 advantage in total offense.
"Give credit where credit is due," said Rison, the first NCCU coach to win four of his first five games since Larry Little went 4-1 in 1993. "Coach Fobbs and his staff did an outstanding coaching job, and like I said, they were the best football team we've played this season. But I'm extremely proud of my team. We hung in to the bitter end."
Fobbs also gave his team credit for a good effort.
"We had a chance to win the game right up until the finish and played hard on both sides of the ball," Fobbs said. "We were in position to win it, and then [Eric Ray] stepped up and made a great play.
"That's the game. You've got to take care of the ball."
Eric's brother Derrick Ray returned one interception for a 23-yard score, while true freshman Jeffery Henderson returned another 72 yards for a touchdown.
"The last time both of us got picks was in high school [at Raleigh Millbrook], and we both took them back for touchdowns," Derrick Ray said. "Tonight, we just played good team football on defense and made big plays."
Stadford Brown led the Eagles' offense, completing 11 of 18 passes for 97 yards and the other two touchdowns. Tim Shankle added 66 yards on 14 carries. "I guess I was good enough," Brown said with a smile. "The important thing is that we won."
Northern High alumnus Michael Ferguson led the Aggies with 113 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Two A&T quarterbacks, Shelton Morgan and Miller, combined for 248 passing yards on the night.
"It's really tough to lose this one after we played so well," Ferguson said. "Losing at the end like that is hard. It hurts."
The Eagles scored on their first possession when Brown tossed a short pass up the middle to Will Scott, who sprinted 44 yards for the touchdown to complete a six-play, 65-yard drive. Taylor Gray added his first successful conversion kick, and NCCU led 7-0 with 12:33 left in the quarter.
A&T got on the board with 11:23 left in the half, as Nick Johnson blocked Gray's punt from the NCCU 19 and Gray recovered in the end zone for a safety. The Aggies kept their momentum going on the ensuing possession, going 58 yards in 10 plays with Ferguson taking it in from 1 yard out for A&T's first lead of the season. Eric Houston added the conversion kick, and it was 9-7 with 6:41 left in the half.
But the Eagles recovered with a balanced 14-play, 75-yard drive that included three runs of at least 10 yards from Shankle. Brown connected with Brandon Alston for a 15-yard pass on fourth-and-11 from the A&T 24, and two plays later found tight end Christopher Edwards in the back of the end zone from 4 yards out. Gray added the boot and the Eagles led 14-9 with 48 seconds left in the half.
A&T found some lightning on its first play of the second half, as Ferguson burst up the middle for a 74-yard gain to the Eagles' 16. Dion McNair's 1-yard run completed a seven-play, 89-yard drive and Houston's kick made it 16-14 at 11:30.
The Aggies scored again on their next possession, going 65 yards in nine plays to set up Houston's 27-yard field goal, their first 3-pointer in 17 games.
But the Eagles struck with a big play early in the fourth quarter, as Derrick Ray stepped in front of a Morgan pass intended for David Robinson and rambled down the left sideline for the touchdown. Gray's kick gave the Eagles a 21-19 lead with 12:30 to play.
Four minutes later, they came up with a bigger one, as Henderson intercepted a Morgan pass at his own 28, got several blocks through traffic and finished a 72-yard return. Gray's kick was blocked, leaving the score at 27-19 with 8:30 left.
A&T cut the margin back to 27-22 with 4:51 to go on Houston's 39-yard field goal.
Gray punted into the Aggies' end zone with 2:24 remaining, giving A&T one last chance for victory before the interception sealed the result.
NOTES -- The renewal of the rivalry after a one-year hiatus was NCCU's first game as a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) team against another FCS team. ... A&T (0-4) had its losing streak extended to 20 games, the longest slide in the nation among FCS teams. ... Along with NCCU's 23-22 victory in Raleigh in 2005, the wins were the Eagles' first back-to-back victories in the series since 1987-88. This was the fourth time in the last five meetings in the series that a game had been determined by no more than five points, with NCCU winning three. … A&T leads the series 45-29-5. … The Eagles host Presbyterian on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the schools' first meeting. It will be a matchup between the only two teams in their first season in the FCS. … A&T hosts MEAC foe Norfolk State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
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