CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Central State can't afford many things while it tries to rebuild a once dominant football program. The school in Wilberforce, Ohio is besieged by financial woes, with only 13 scholarships for its 70-man squad.The absence of one of those players on Saturday created a void the Marauders were never able to fill. Without injured starting quarterback Jeffrey Brooks, Central State could not get on track, or into the end zone, as it fell, 42-3, to North Carolina Central at the Cleveland Classic at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The Marauders (0-2) were held to 208 total yards of offense, 89 in the first half.
"It always hurts when your three-year starter is out," said Central State coach E.J. Junior about Brooks. "Jeff brings leadership. He knows the offense. He's a competitor. He would've done better, but he would've been under the same fire from North Carolina Central's defensive line."
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N.C. Central bounces back
CLEVELAND -- N.C. Central coach Henry Frazier III had expected his Eagles to perform better Saturday than they did a week earlier in a 48-0 loss to Rutgers. They did not disappoint Frazier.
For the Eagles, all things considered, played as their coach had hoped. His defenders swarmed to the ball, his offense shoved the Central State defense up and down the football field and his Eagles dominated the Marauders en route to a 42-3 win in the 2011 Cleveland Classic. His team's performance, however, was hardly spotless.
"We still were a little sloppy," said Frazier, in his first season at NCCU. "We still committed a lot of penalties, and we had six or seven dropped passes." Perhaps still unnerved by the Rutgers loss, his Eagles dropped three passes in their first two possessions. Those drops, which led to punts, cost them close to 100 yards of offense and ruined opportunities to grab a quick lead.
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