NCCU Football hosts #12 Bethune-Cookman

Eagles Challenge Defending MEAC Champions on ESPNews

 Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE GAME
Bethune-Cookman University "Wildcats" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, November 2, 2013 – Kickoff at 12:00 p.m.

THE SITE
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (10,000 capacity/Mondoturf) - Durham, N.C.

THE RECORDS
Bethune-Cookman (7-1 overall, 4-0 MEAC); N.C. Central (4-4 overall, 2-2 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network mobile app (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, Kindle Fire HD); "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 11:30 a.m. (Chris Hooks, play-by-play; Joe Simmons, color analyst).
Television: Live television broadcast on ESPNews. Broadcast starts at 12:00 p.m.

QUICK HITS
• Bethune-Cookman, the defending MEAC champion, is the second nationally-ranked team to visit O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium this season. The Wildcats are ranked No. 13 in The Sports Network FCS Top-25 poll and No. 12 in the FCS Coaches poll.
• Game televised live on ESPNews.
• Bethune-Cookman has the second-best defense in the nation (Division I-FCS), holding opponents to just 263.4 yards of total offense per game. The Wildcats rank third in the FCS in scoring defense, allowing only 15.0 points per contest.
• NCCU has been out-scored 62-19 in the first quarter this season, while Bethune-Cookman has out-scored its opponents 72-17 in the opening 15 minutes of play.
• NCCU redshirt freshman quarterback Malcolm Bell (Richmond, Va.) threw for a touchdown and rushed for another score to help lead the Eagles to a road win over Savannah State last week in his first career start.
• NCCU sophomore Adrian Wilkins (Forest City, N.C.) tops the MEAC in both kickoff returns (29.1 yards per return) and all-purpose yards (139.1 yards per game), and has scored touchdowns on two kickoff returns (100, 91 yards), two punt returns (89, 73 yards) and two receptions. He is the only Eagle in the NCCU record books with a kickoff return touchdown, a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same season. Wilkins is the only student-athlete in the NCAA Division I-FCS with four special teams return touchdowns.
• NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster (Henderson, N.C.), who amassed 80 tackles in eight games last season, is the second-leading tackler in the MEAC with 92 takedowns (5th in FCS).

THE SERIES
This will be the fifth football meeting between NCCU and Bethune-Cookman since the teams first met in 1994. Bethune-Cookman leads the series 3-1, including three straight victories. In that first match-up on Sept. 24, 1994, the Eagles captured a 24-5 road victory in Daytona Beach, Fla. Three years ago on Oct. 23, 2010, B-CU, as the 14th ranked team in the nation, earned a 23-10 win in Durham, N.C. Two years ago, the Wildcats amassed 525 yards during a 34-6 victory to spoil NCCU's homecoming on Oct. 29, 2011. Last season, B-CU scored 28 unanswered points to overcome a three-point second-half deficit en route to a 42-17 win on Oct. 27, 2012.
10/27/2012 - B-CU 42, NCCU 17 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
10/29/2011 - B-CU 34, NCCU 6 (Durham, N.C.)
10/23/2010 - B-CU 23, NCCU 10 (Durham, N.C.)
9/24/1994 - NCCU 24, B-CU 5 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)

THE LAST MEETING
(Oct. 27, 2012 - B-CU 42, NCCU 17)  North Carolina Central University held a slim three-point lead midway through the third quarter, but Bethune-Cookman University scored 28 unanswered points to end the Eagles' four-game win streak with a 42-17 victory inside Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. NCCU quarterback Jordan Reid threw touchdown passes to Detwan Robinson and Decona Roberts in the first half to go into the locker room with the score tied at 14-14. On the first drive of the second half, the Eagles moved the ball inside the B-CU 1-yard line, but committed a false start penalty on third down and had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by sophomore Oleg Parent to give NCCU a 17-14 edge at 7:23 of the third quarter. Bethune-Cookman responded by moving the pigskin 63 yards on five consecutive run plays, capped by a 8-yard scamper by Rodney Scott, to take a 21-17 advantage at 5:28 of the third quarter. After the Wildcats forced an NCCU punt, B-CU running back Isidore Jackson took the first play 93 yards to the end zone to put the home team up 28-17. NCCU posted a 12-play, 52-yard drive in an attempt to answer the challenge, but Parent's 36-yard field goal try was blocked to keep the gap at 11 points. With less than six minutes remaining in the game and needing two scores, NCCU had to force the action, which resulted in two interceptions and a fumble by the Eagles in their final three possessions. Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game with 4:14 remaining to put the Wildcats up 35-17, then B-CU opted to post more points on the scoreboard with a 1-yard touchdown run by Angelo Cabrera with 58 seconds remaining. Jackson finished the evening with 158 rushing yards to help the Wildcats amass 443 yards of total offense, including 274 yards on the ground. NCCU recorded 234 total yards, including 154 yards through the air by Reid on 15-of-28 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Running back Arthur Goforth collected 142 all-purpose yards, including a team-high 43 rushing yards, 28 receiving yards on a team-best four catches, and 71 kickoff return yards. Redshirt freshman safety Ryan Smith tallied at game-high 12 tackles (8 solo) and a fumble recovery to lead the Eagles.

THE COACHES
North Carolina Central: Dwayne Foster (Delaware State, 1993) joined NCCU in 2011 as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, before being elevated to interim head coach prior to the 2013 season. Previously, he served as running backs coach at Prairie View A&M University (2005-10), tight ends and running backs coach at Catholic University (2004), and offensive line coach at Bowie State University (2003). Foster made his name on the high school level in Washington, D.C., as the head coach of Archbishop Carroll High School from 1997-2003. At Archbishop, Foster received coach of the year honors by the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Committee in 1998. Foster played college football at Delaware State University from 1989-93 and helped the Hornets capture two MEAC Championships during his freshmen and junior seasons before graduating in 1993. Foster is a member of the Black Coaches and American Football Coaches Associations, was part of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program in 2010 with the Buffalo Bills and in 2012 with the Cincinnati Bengals, and participated in the NCAA Men's Football Coaching Academy in Indianapolis, Ind., in June 2006.

Bethune-Cookman: Brian Jenkins is in his fourth season with the Bethune-Cookman University football program. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native led the Wildcats to a 10-2 record, a share of the MEAC championship and a spot in the NCAA playoffs in his first season as a college head coach in 2010. He followed that effort with an 8-3 campaign in 2011. In 2012, B-CU posted a 9-3 overall record, including an 8-0 mark in the league to win the conference title and advance to the NCAA playoffs for the second time in three years. Jenkins was an assistant coach at Rutgers University in the 2009 season as wide receivers coach on Greg Schiano's Scarlet Knights' team that was the St. Petersburg Bowl champions. Prior to Rutgers, Jenkins served as running backs coach and special team's coordinator at Louisiana-Lafayette for seven seasons (2002-2008). Jenkins joined UL from the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. Prior to his stint in NFL-Europe, Jenkins was the running backs coach at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Before joining the BGSU Falcons, Jenkins spent five seasons with Eastern Illinois University. From 1995-98 he served as running backs coach and was named the receivers coach in 1999. In 1994, he was the receivers coach at Western Kentucky University. Jenkins played college football as both a wide receiver and running back at the University of Cincinnati. He was the Bearcat record holder for kickoff return yards in a season and in a career before those records were surpassed in 2009. He graduated in 1993 with an associate's degree in education and bachelor's degree in social work.

COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION