N.C. Central looks for second MEAC win

Durham, North Carolina -- Last weekend's first victory in the MEAC wasn't one that North Carolina Central coach Henry Frazier wanted his team to spend too much time celebrating. But it was a huge sense of relief. At the mention during his weekly conference call that it might have been like a monkey off his back, Frazier laughed.

"I wouldn't say it was a monkey," he said. "I say it was a big, old gorilla. We had been close a few times and just hadn't been able to pull it out."

In fact, the Eagles (2-7, 1-5) have held fourth-quarter leads in four of their previous six games before hanging on to beat Delaware State last weekend in Dover, Del.



One reason that Frazier didn't want to spend too much time savoring the win is because his team has the challenge of trying to beat Florida A&M in its last home game today at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham,N.C.

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TONIGHT: NCCU Eagles at North Carolina - Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina -- The Eagles of North Carolina Central University tipoff the 2011-12 campaign against in-state foe Charlotte. This will be the first official contest for NCCU as full NCAA Division I members after finishing the reclassifying process and receiving word from the NCAA and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference that the Eagles are eligible for postseason play.

NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, and color analyst Joe Simmons will call the action live from Halton Arena beginning at 7:15 p.m. online at NCCUEaglePride.com. Just simply go to the GameCentral Icon on the home page and enjoy the action. You can also follow the game live on twitter by following @ NCCUAthletics and putting in #NCCUChar as a hashtag.

THE SERIES
NCCU and Charlotte have never met on the hardwood. The Eagles are 2-1 against current A-10 opponents despite losing its last contest against league member Duquesne 97-79 on Dec. 22, 2008. The Eagles have previously beaten Xavier (85-68) on March 1, 1954 and Rhode Island (77-70) on Jan. 27, 1969.



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B-CU Wildcats win 3rd straight, 34-6 over NCCU Eagles

DURHAM, North Carolina -- It's not unusual for a team to get a lopsided victory in a homecoming game. What is unusual is when it's the visiting team that puts the big numbers on the scoreboard.

Bethune-Cookman did just that Saturday, drilling a struggling North Carolina Central team 34-6 to spoil the Eagles' homecoming at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. It was the first time in six years that North Carolina Central lost its homecoming game.

B-CU (5-3, 3-2 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) scored the first 34 points of the game. Running back Anthony Jordan had two touchdown runs, running back Rodney Scott and quarterback Jackie Wilson each had one rushing TD and receiver Patrick Harris caught a scoring pass for the Wildcats.

"Our guys operated the scheme that they were coached to do and were successful at it," said B-CU coach Brian Jenkins, who saw the Wildcats amass 525 yards of offense. "The main thing is we were careful with the football, and that was a positive factor in the game, and that's why we were effective offensively."

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WILDCATS CAPTURE CONVINCING WIN AT NCCU HOMECOMING GAME

DURHAM, N.C. – Bethune-Cookman University sophomore quarterback Jackie Wilson passed for 183 yards and ran for another 113 yards to spark the Wildcats to 525 total yards and a 34-6 victory over North Carolina Central University inside a packed O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium celebrating NCCU’s homecoming.

Wilson completed 12-of-15 passes for 183 yards and an 11-yard touchdown strike to Patrick Harris in the third quarter. His team-high 113 ground yards came on just nine carries, including a 3-yard touchdown scamper right before halftime.

B-CU sophomore running back Isidore Jackson also surpassed the century mark with 108 rushing yards, while Anthony Jordan found the end zone twice and Rodney Scott had 57 rushing yards and a score. As a team, the Wildcats rushed for 333 yards, averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

Photo Gallery    




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HU Pirates survive homecoming scare in win over NCCU Eagles

HAMPTON, Virginia - The Hampton University football team’s four seniors had one thing in mind coming into Saturday’s contest at Armstrong Stadium: Homecoming. The Pirates had not won a Homecoming game since defeating Winston-Salem State 13-3 in 2006, but seniors David Legree, Isaiah Thomas, Dyrri McCain and Micah Pellein wanted to leave their final year with a win on Homecoming – which the Pirates would accomplish, though it took longer than expected with a 30-27 overtime win over North Carolina Central.



Hampton started the game by driving the ball into NCCU territory on its first two drives, but the first ended in a turnover on downs and the second ended in a blocked field goal. The Eagles would get on the board first, when Oleg Parent kicked a 40-yard field goal with 20 second left in the first quarter. Hampton would answer the Eagles on a 6-yard run by running back Antwon Chisholm with 11:49 left in the second quarter to give the Pirates a 7-3 lead. Hampton would score once more in the second quarter off of a 23-yard field goal by Taurean Durham to put the Pirates up 10-3, but the Eagles would manage to go 60 yards in under 1:46 to tie the game up at 10-10 at halftime.

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HU pulls away in overtime, defeats N.C. Central 30-27

HAMPTON, Virginia — — On a day when Hampton continually struggled to get out of its own way, it was North Carolina Central that wound up making the biggest mistake. The Eagles celebrated too soon.

Up three in overtime, the Eagles pranced off the field in jubilation after defensive back Marc Lewis appeared to recover an Antwan Chisholm fumble. Ultimately, though, it was Hampton's Jamal Wilson with the ball at the bottom of the pile. Three plays later, Jeremiah Schwartz bulled into the end zone from a yard out to lift the Pirates past the Eagles 30-27 at Armstrong Stadium and seal Hampton's first homecoming victory since 2006.

"When I saw that play, the first thing I thought about was the Bethune game," Pirates coach Donovan Rose said, referring to Hampton's controversial loss Sept. 22 at Bethune-Cookman, when Isiah Thomas' apparent game-winning touchdown reception as time expired was overturned on video review. "I'm thinking, Oh, no, not again.

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Homecoming Preview: NCCU Eagles at Hampton Pirates

HAMPTON, Virginia – The Hampton University football team will look to get back into the win column on Saturday, when the Pirates welcome North Carolina Central to Armstrong Stadium to celebrate Homecoming.

Kickoff will be at 2 p.m.

The Pirates (3-3, 1-2 MEAC) are coming off a 34-24 loss at Norfolk State this past Saturday, while the Eagles (1-5, 0-3 MEAC), in their first year in the conference, lost their fourth straight game this past Saturday 52-3 to Morgan State.

The Pirates are 48-33-2 all-time in their Homecoming contests – though Hampton has not won a Homecoming game since 2006, when the Pirates beat Winston-Salem State 13-3. Bethune-Cookman spoiled Hampton’s Homecoming last season with a 23-18 win. Hampton won its first-ever Homecoming game, beating Virginia Union 25-0 in 1928. The Pirates won 11 straight Homecoming games from 1980-1990, and had won six straight from 2001-06.

For the season, senior quarterback David Legree (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is completing 59.3 percent of his passes (115-for-194) for 1,338 yards and nine touchdowns. Legree is second in the MEAC in passing, averaging 223.0 yards per game in the air.

Game Notes



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NCCU takes beating from Morgan State

Durham, North Carolina -- The last time Morgan State visited Durham was Oct. 10, 1981, when the Bears won 35-27. N.C. Central would like to make it another 30 years after Saturday's 52-3 drubbing - its worse home loss since a 67-6 thrashing by Florida A&M in 1951.

All but 10 of Morgan State's points were in the first half.

The Bears have now won five of the last six meetings, including last year's 49-7 victory in Baltimore. The loss is NCCU's fourth straight, but this one, undoubtedly, is the most embarrassing.



"We got our tails whipped," NCCU coach Henry Frazier said. "We committed every penalty there is to commit in football. You name it, we did it."

Morgan State held the Eagles to minus-17 yards rushing, 52 total yards and just three first downs in the first half.

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Morgan State vs. NCCU to Kick-Off at 4 p.m. in Durham

DURHAM, North Carolina -- The Bears will face new conference member North Carolina Central when they hit the gridiron on Saturday (Oct. 15) at O'Kelly Riddick Stadium. The Eagles are coming off of a 49-38 heartbreaking loss at South Carolina State, and will attempt to snap a 3-game losing streak. MSU will try to make it two wins in a row following a 44-17 offensive explosion against Savannah State during last week's Homecoming festivities. Game time at O'Kelly Riddick Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. and there will be a live radio broadcast of the game on WEAA, 88.9 FM.



THE BEAR-EAGLES MATCHUP
• The Bears and Tigers will meet for the 36th time in history ... Morgan leads the series 21-12-2.
• During their last matchup, MSU RB Devan James rushed for 114 yards and touchdown and the Bears collected a school record six interceptions, three returned for touchdowns, en route to a 49-7 win over North Carolina Central on Sept, 14, 2008 at Hughes Stadium.
• The last time the two teams met in Durham was on October 10, 1981. MSU defeated the Eagles 35-27 during Thomas Morris' first and only stint as the Bears head coach. The Bears finished the season with a 4-5 record.

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Frazier says North Carolina Central Eagles will either play well or get ‘smashed’ against South Carolina State Bulldogs

RALEIGH, N.C. - An article written in the Aug. 31 edition of the Star-Ledger in New Jersey referred to new North Carolina Central head football coach Henry Frazier III as "Dr. Fix It" and with good reason.

The former Bowie State quarterback has taken over three losing football programs and turned them into winners. Frazier's success in revitalizing a Prairie View A&M program which had won 21 of 216 games since 1980 prior to his arrival and leading them to the 2009 Southwestern Athletic Conference title earned him the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation's best Football Championship Subdivision head football coach.

Now Frazier looks to do the same at North Carolina Central which is now eligible to compete for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title. Saturday's homecoming matchup against a program he called the conference's "premier flagship team" in South Carolina State could serve as a barometer in determining where the Eagles stand in their rebuilding phase.



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NCCU missed extra point costly in loss

DURHAM, NC -- On his weekly radio show Tuesday, N.C. Central coach Henry Frazier III said Elon would be a barometer on where the Eagles stand as a full member of the NCAA's Div. I Football Championship Series.

Like the Eagles, the Phoenix reclassified from Division II to the FCS and have been quite successful at it. NCCU, Frazier said, is looking to get to that level. After Saturday night's 17-16 hard-fought loss, NCCU (1-2) showed that it's that not far down the totem pole despite being outplayed on the statistics sheet. A missed extra point in the second quarter proved to be the difference on the scoreboard.

"We gave our absolute best, but mistakes hurt us down the stretch," a drained Frazier said. "We had the chance to win and we'll get better. But No. 3 is the real deal."



That No. 3 is Elon junior wide receiver Aaron Mellette, who caught 16 passes for a career-high ...

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NCCU Football Visits Pro Football Hall of Fame

Central State overwhelmed by N.C. Central, 42-3, in Cleveland Classic

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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N.C. Central & Savannah State Become Full Members Of MEAC

NORFOLK, Va..- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) confirmed today that North Carolina Central University and Savannah State University have met the criteria to become full members of the conference effective September 1, 2011.

"We are elated to have North Carolina Central and Savannah State to become full members of the MEAC family," said Commissioner Dennis Thomas. "I am pleased to announce that both institutions have done a great job at meeting detailed criteria to be confirmed for full membership."

Thomas added, "Their additions sustain our long range and strategic plan of adding up to 14 members. Adding these outstanding academic institutions completes the geographical footprint that bridges our South Carolina and Florida institutions. "

As a full member, North Carolina Central and Savannah State are immediately eligible to participate in all conference championships and earn the conference's automatic berth to NCAA postseason competition in all sponsored sports.

The additions give the MEAC a total of 13 conference members with 11 football playing institutions. The conference is in its 42nd year of operation heading into the 2011-12 academic school year. The MEAC sponsors 15 Division I (FCS) sports with automatic qualifying bids for NCAA postseason competition in baseball, bowling, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, softball, and volleyball.

Today's announcement reaffirms the provisional membership status North Carolina Central received in 2009 and Savannah State received in 2010.

North Carolina Central recently received approval from the NCAA to reclassify from Division II to active Division I status. NCCU is one of seven founding member institutions of the MEAC.

Savannah State, which previously competed as a Division I independent, is the only institution in the MEAC from the state of Georgia.

Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of 13 outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Bethune-Cookman University, Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, Savannah State University and South Carolina State University.

New coach Henry Frazier likes the fact his Eagles never quit in 48-0 loss to Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Henry Frazier felt that coming to Rutgers to take on a BCS opponent would give him a good idea about the players he would be coaching in his first season at North Carolina Central.

While the 48-0 loss wasn’t what he was looking for, Frazier was more than happy with what his Eagles showed. They never quit. They played hard and the mistakes they made can be corrected in plenty of time for next week’s game against Central State in Cleveland.



“My boys played hard, they played with class and they didn’t quit,” Frazier said after the Eagles’ first game as a Football Championship Subdivision team. “From a defensive standpoint I thought we did very well. Rutgers earned every point on our defense. On offense we can’t giveaway points like we did.”

Rutgers got two first-half touchdown runs from highly touted freshman halfback Savon Huggins and the Scarlet Knights defense broke the game open with two touchdowns in a 45-second span in spoiling Frazier’s debut on Thursday night.

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NCCU overwhelmed in 48-0 loss to Rutgers

Piscataway, N.J. -- In its first journey as a full-fledged member of the Division 1 FCS, North Carolina Central University experienced a few bumps in the road Thursday night.

The Eagles managed only 120 total yards, committed four turnovers and nine penalties in a 48-0 loss to Rutgers at High Point Solutions Stadium before 40,061. It was the first shutout suffered by NCCU since Winston-Salem State claimed a 47-0 win in 2003.

The Eagles were a “re-classified” member of the NCAA’s Division 1 since 2007, meaning they were not eligible for bowl games, statistics were not recognized by the NCAA and players could not receive post-season awards. They were also “provisional members” of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) operating with similar constraints to the NCAA.

Rutgers is now 8-0 against MEAC opponents, defeating Morgan State three times, Norfolk State and Howard twice each and NCCU.

The one-sided loss was brightened by a guaranteed $400,000 NCCU received from Rutgers for playing the game. The Scarlet Knights were selected to finish last in the BigEast by the conference coaches in the pre-season poll.

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Rutgers/NCCU Gameday: Scarlet Knights host North Carolina Central in season opener

Rutgers vs. North Carolina Central Eagles
Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway
TV: ESPN3.com
Radio: 1450-AM, 710-AM, 97.5-FM

THE STORYLINES

1. Has Rutgers’ offensive line improved enough to make it through a game against an FCS opponent without yielding a sack? Norfolk State, a MEAC school like N.C. Central, recorded three sacks in last year’s opener against the Scarlet Knights — which should have been an immediate tip off to how much the unit would struggle that season. In allowing an NCAA record 61 sacks, Rutgers gave up at least one in all 12 games in 2010. The good news/bad news: Four of those O-line starters are back, but the return to a pro-style offense is supposed to help. N.C. Central, with five returning defensive starters, doesn’t have a player who recorded more than two sacks last season. A sack-free performance should be possible.



2. How much of heralded true freshman running back Savon Huggins will we see — especially with North Carolina waiting in nine days?  Huggins will get his share of playing time and may even start. He might get enough carries to flirt with 100 yards rushing in his collegiate debut, too. But don’t expect to see the wraps taken off Huggins just yet. It’s too soon. This is one of those games where the coaches want to get Huggins just enough of a feel for game action without revealing too much. It’s even possible, if the game is lopsided, that redshirt freshman Jawan Jamison will wind up with the most carries of all the tailbacks — almost all after halftime. It may be the only time this season that happens

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Rutgers Football vs. NCCU Eagles: Know Your Opponent

Piscataway, NJ - Welcome to the first installment of a new feature – Know Your Opponent (KYO). Each Tuesday we will conduct a question and answer session with a representative from the Scarlet Knights opponent during that week. This week we hooked up with Chris Hooks, the Assistant Sports Information Director for North Carolina Central University and Play-by-Play man for the NCCU Sports Network.

If you have a moment, make sure to check out the Durham based NCCU athletics website and twitter feed. I do have to admit I was very impressed with the Eagles media campaign, which includes You Tube interviews. The program appears to have a growing following and they are excited about having this opportunity to play at Rutgers. Enjoy:



As this is your first season being fully integrated into FCS football what are your expectations for the 2011 season?

This will be my fourth football season as the radio play-by-play voice at NCCU and I can say this and get no odd looks from the Eagle faithful. The anticipation for this year, the excitement of a new coaching staff who has already proven to be a winner in their previous stops has this fan base ready to explode. The last few years have been a real struggle for the fans and for this program only because the transition to Division I is not easy, but we’ve made it and that’s why expectations this year are such. Our fans are ready to have that hope for a championship like every other FCS school in the nation.

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Rutgers coach Greg Schiano eager to see how inexperienced players respond in season opener vs. NCCU

Piscataway, NJ - Beyond whatever the final score may be — or the statistics compiled — Rutgers coach Greg Schiano sees something much more significant to be gained from Thursday's season opener against North Carolina Central: Game experience for a team that is surprisingly low on it.

"We really want to play the best we can," Schiano said during his weekly press conference today. "I think we have some depth on our team but a lot of that depth has not been tested in games. So I think it's going to be a great experience opportunity for them — and I don't mean down the road.

"I mean, (we have) guys that just haven't played that are first or second team players. To be in a game ... no matter how much you try to simulate game situations, it's difficult. I'm anxious to see how they respond. Everyone responds differently when the lights come on."

A quick check of the two-deep underscores just how short Rutgers is on starting experience.



NEXT GAME: THURSDAY, SEPT. 1, 2011 vs. NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL EAGLES

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Frazier hoping N.C. Central gets tested Thursday vs. Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — While he understands that his North Carolina Central squad will be a major underdog in its season opener against Rutgers on Thursday, first-year coach Henry Frazier insists the Eagles are playing for something tangible.

“Identity,” said Frazier, whose squad is making its Football Championship Subdivision debut, stepping up in class against FBS-member Rutgers. “I want to find out what type of ballclub I have. I want to see, when adversity hits, how we respond. Or when we do something good, how do we respond? It's going to tell me about the type of ballclub we have.

“We have 10 ballgames after this one. So we spend three or four weeks preparing for the first game and then we only have three or four games preparing for the second. You have to lay your foundation during training camp so a lot of times we lose perspective in terms of the first game. I won't do that. We'll keep everything in perspective and we will have an identity once this game is over.”



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NCCU Eagles ready to fly under Frazier

Durham, N.C. - The Henry Frazier III train is about to start. But what a first stop on the track back to respectability. N.C. Central opens its season Sept. 3 at Rutgers in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN3.

After three straight losing seasons, including last year's 3-8 embarrassment, Frazier was hired to do what he does best - turn losers into winners. But NCCU is not a hard fix. Despite their record, the Eagles have plenty of talent returning, including redshirt senior quarterback Michael Johnson (1,179 yards, 8 TDs) and top junior wide receiver Geovonie Irvine (758 yards, 5 TDs).



The offense averaged 307 total yards, 1,559 rushing yards and 1,818 passing yards per game. Still, it had trouble finding the end zone in the second part of the season. Turnovers caused the most problems, however with eight offensive starters returning, Frazier thinks he has a fix on that.

"I expect the offense to score some points," the former Prairie View A&M and Bowie State coach said. "We have weapons to be a true multiple offense and have true balance. I expect us to take care of the ball and take what the defense gives us."

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Frazier challenges NCCU Eagles to push themselves

Durham, N.C. - No whistle around his neck. Instead, N.C. Central football coach Henry Frazier III strutted to the field with a bullhorn. "It counts now," Frazier said Wednesday evening before NCCU's first practice.

The coach was savoring the Eagles having officially rejoined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and being eligible to compete for the conference title, eligible to go after an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision crown. The Eagles will get there with trust and effort, Frazier said. That means players both buying what coaches are selling and busting their tails on the field, Frazier said.

"Players play and coaches coach," said Frazier, entering his first season at NCCU after turning a not-so-good Prairie View A&M squad into Southwestern Athletic Conference champions.



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