Thursday, August 30, 2018

N.C. Central, Prairie View A&M are both playing for new coaches in MEAC/SWAC Challenge

ATLANTA, Georgia -- The MEAC/SWAC Challenge, now in its 14th year, will be played in its new home in Atlanta on Sunday. The early-season matchup, which features a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) against a foe from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), will make Atlanta its home until 2020.

The game Sunday at Pete Petit Field at Georgia State Stadium will be between Prairie View A&M of the SWAC and North Carolina Central of the MEAC and will serve as an appetizer to the season-ending Celebration Bowl, also in Atlanta.



The N.C. Central Eagles open their 2018 campaign with new head coach Granville Eastman, who worked under former head coach Jerry Mack as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach for four seasons. Mack is now the offensive coordinator at Rice University.

Under Eastman, the defense was one of the best in the MEAC. It’s led by one of the best players in historically black college and university (HBCU) football, Davanta Reynolds, the preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. On Sunday, he’ll be facing a Prairie View A&M offense that proved last week that it could score, putting up 28 points against FBS opponent Rice University before losing 31-28 on a last-second field goal by the Owls.

It’s likely that Reynolds will be matched up against Prairie View Panthers receiver Tristen Wallace, an Oregon transfer who had five catches for 147 yards and a touchdown versus Rice. Quarterback Jalen Morton completed 16 of 28 passes for 244 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

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