DURHAM, North Carolina — N.C. Central time capitalized on another team’s turnovers — instead of being buried by its own — and beat Fayetteville State 54-31 in Saturday’s season opener.
The Eagles put 34 points on the board in the second half, a far cry from last year’s team that lacked the legs and overall stamina to finish games. NCCU handed down that punishing sentence in front of 9,077 at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium, punctuating it with a 57-yard punt return by redshirt freshman Adrian Wilkins as the final seconds ticked off.
FSU put NCCU on its heels in the first quarter when the Eagles were punting from their own 38. FSU’s Joseph McLean blocked the punt, and teammate Christopher Person picked it up at the 2 and scored. When these two squads last played each other in 2008, FSU scored on a blocked punt. FSU won that game 33-22 at NCCU.
NCCU coach Henry Frazier III said he’s not sure how last year’s team would have responded to getting punched like that, but he said the situation was the sort of thing he’s been preaching to the Eagles.
“That’s what we talk about in practice,” Frazier said. “When something bad happens, do you hang your head, or do you go out there and try to make a play? And they went out there and they made a play.”
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N.C. Central’s Irvine steals show as QB Goggans makes historic start in win
DURHAM -- N.C. Central quarterback Matt Goggans was making a historic start as the first white starting quarterback in Eagles’ history, but it was veteran wide receiver Geovonie Irvine who stole the show.
Irvine combined for 191 all-purpose yards, with 79 receiving and 112 return yards, along with two touchdowns to lead N.C. Central to a 54-31 win over CIAA opponent Fayetteville State Saturday.
The Broncos upset the Eagles four years ago in Durham, but in that game Irvine, a redshirt senior, was watching from the sidelines. Saturday, the preseason All-American was so drained, he received IV fluids after the game.
N.C. Central coach Henry Frazier was high on adrenaline after his first home win as a coach. Frazier was caught doing a little jig as the clock wound down.
“It just feels good to get that first victory,” said Frazier who went 0-5 at home last season. “We needed to get off to a good start.”
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