Oct. 7, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE GAME: North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Presbyterian College "Blue Hose"

THE KICKOFF: Saturday, October 11, 2008 - Kickoff at 1:30 p.m.

THE SITE: Bailey Stadium (6,500 capacity/natural grass surface) - Clinton, S.C.

2008 RECORDS: North Carolina Central (1-4 overall); Presbyterian (2-4 overall)

THE EVENT: NCCU's first trip to South Carolina since playing Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. on Sept. 9, 2000. After starting the season with four losses, the Eagles will attempt to secure their second straight victory after defeating rival North Carolina A&T 28-27 on Saturday (Oct. 4) in Charlotte, N.C. Both NCCU and Presbyterian are in the same year of reclassification to NCAA Division I-FCS (Football Championship Subdivision).

THE SERIES: This will be the second meeting between NCCU and Presbyterian. The Blue Hose won the first match-up 34-27 on Sept. 29, 2007 in Durham, N.C.

LAST WEEK FOR NCCU: (NCCU 28, North Carolina A&T 27 - Charlotte, N.C.) North Carolina Central University's offense stormed out to a commanding lead and the defense held onto it as the Eagles defeated North Carolina A&T State University 28-27 in the 80th meeting between the long-time rivals held at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. An announced crowd of 20,180 fans witnessed another classic contest between the Eagles and Aggies, with the outcome holding in the balance during the final drive for the fourth consecutive meeting. The victory was the third straight in the series for NCCU, the longest such streak since the Eagles defeated the Aggies five times in a row from 1970-74. NCCU senior linebacker Alex Winters led the unit with eight total tackles and a 38-yard fumble return for a touchdown that proved to be the game-winner. Rookie linebacker Roger Stewart added seven stops for the Eagles, Eric Smalls had six hits with a sack and a forced fumble, and Derek Harvey tallied five tackles and an interception. NCCU running back Tim Shankle finished with 55 yards and two scores on the ground, while Tony McCord added 42 rushing yards. Senior quarterback Stadford Brown completed 7-of-12 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game with an injury prior to halftime. Red-shirt freshman Keon Williams filled in for Brown and completed 4-of-5 passes for 77 yards. Wayne Blackwell caught four passes for 42, Deshawn Spears grabbed three receptions for 52 yards, and freshman tight end DeMarcus Hill caught a touchdown pass. NCCU posted 242 yards of total offense compared to 296 total yards for the Aggies.

LAST WEEK FOR PRESBYTERIAN: (Presbyterian 22, North Greenville 15 - Clinton, S.C.) Presbyterian College's Brandon Clark finished with a career-best 10 catches for 125 yards in PC's 22-15 homecoming victory over North Greenville at Bailey Memorial Stadium. Clark was one of six Blue Hose to catch a pass in the victory over the Crusaders. Terrance Butler finished the game with four catches for 30 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Brandon Miley completed his first career pass in the win over the Crusaders in the second quarter in relief of starter Tim Webb, who had to leave the game due to an injury. Miley was 12-for-16 overall in the contest, passing for 101 yards and one touchdown. PC's Chris Bowman led all defensive players in the contest with 11 tackles on seven solo stops and four assists. Bowman had a half a sack and 1.0 total tackles-for-loss. Bowman was one of three Blue Hose with eight or more tackles. Anthony McKnight had eight tackles in total in the game, while Antwan Thomas concluded his efforts in the game with eight stops.

THE LAST MEETING: (Sept. 29, 2007 - Presbyterian 34, NCCU 27 - Durham, N.C.) NCCU suffered only its second loss of the 2007 season with a 27-34 setback versus Presbyterian College. NCCU quarterback Stadford Brown completed a career-best 26 passes in 47 attempts for a career-high 372 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, his first pick since the season-opening loss at Albany State. The sophomore signal caller was 13-of-24 with 243 yards and two touchdowns passing in a dramatic 20-point comeback bid in the fourth quarter. Brown also rushed for 42 yards to amass a career-best 414 yards of total offense.

THE COACHES: Mose Rison is in his second season as head coach at NCCU after finishing the 2007 campaign with a 6-4 record. Rison was announced as the school's 19th head football coach on Feb. 6, 2007, assuming the role of head coach for the first time in his 25-year coaching career. Rison served as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the Eagles historic 11-1 campaign in 2006. He continues calling plays as the offensive coordinator and working with the quarterbacks. With Rison directing NCCU's offense, the 2006 Eagles scored 371 points (30.9 per game), the most in school history. Under Rison's tutelage, freshman quarterback Stadford Brown was named as the "SBN Sports Doug Williams Offensive Player of the Year," the 2006 CIAA Offensive Player of the Year and CIAA Rookie of the Year. A 1978 graduate of Central Michigan University, Rison spent the 2005 season as the Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Coordinator at Davidson College, where the Wildcats averaged more than 200 yards passing per game running a West Coast offensive system. He has also held positions at Livingstone College (Offensive Coordinator, 2004), the University of Arizona (Wide Receivers/Passing Coordinator, 2003), Stanford University (Wide Receivers, 1995-2000), Rutgers University (Wide Receivers/Tight Ends, 1991-94), the U.S. Naval Academy (Wide Receivers, 1988-90), and Central Michigan University (Wide Receivers, 1981-87). During his tenure at Stanford, Rison coached in three bowl games, including the 2000 Rose Bowl. Rison, the cousin of five-time NFL All-Pro receiver Andre Rison, spent two seasons (2001-02) in the National Football League coaching ranks as the wide receivers coach with the New York Jets, helping to develop Laveranues Coles and Santana Moss. He has also held NFL summer internships with the Baltimore Ravens (2000), Chicago Bears (1999), New York Jets (1993) and Detroit Lions (1988). A standout running back for Central Michigan from 1974-77, Rison helped the Chippewas to a 13-1 record and a Division II national title as a freshman. He rushed for 1,283 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior to earn all-conference and team MVP honors. Rison and his wife, Marilynn, have two children, Dominique (22) and Tara (19). Dominique lives in Charlotte, N.C. and attends Johnson & Wales University. Tara is a sophomore at North Carolina Central University majoring in business.

Presbyterian College head coach Bobby Bentley is in his second season as the mentor of the Blue Hose. Bentley, a 1990 graduate of Presbyterian, is 8-9 all-time as a college head coach. The Blue Hose are 5-1 at home under Bentley.

NCCU QUARTERBACK BROWN OUT WITH FRACTURED COLLARBONE: Moments before the end of the first half against North Carolina A&T on Saturday (Oct. 4), NCCU senior quarterback Stadford Brown suffered a fractured collarbone when he was sacked on a third down play. Brown is slated to have surgery this week (Oct. 5-10) and will be out of the Eagles' line-up for several weeks. A late season return has not been ruled out at this point.

A STRONG WINTERS STORM BLANKETED THE AGGIES: NCCU senior linebacker Alex Winters stormed the North Carolina A&T Aggies for a team-best eight tackles (four solo), including 1.5 hits for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble return for a 38-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which proved to be the game-winner. Winters, a native of Burlington, N.C., currently leads the Eagles with 29 tackles (13 solo).

EAGLES ON THE ROAD AGAIN: NCCU will play its fifth of six consecutive road games on Saturday (Oct. 11) in Clinton, S.C., marking the Eagles' first trip to the Palmetto State since playing Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. on Sept. 9, 2000. NCCU's seven total road games this season will take the Eagles to five different states, including Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, South Carolina and California. The Cal Poly trip will be NCCU's first journey to California in 20 years, when the Eagles played Cal State Sacramento in the second round of the NCAA playoffs on Nov. 27, 1988. In contrast, just three seasons ago in 2005, NCCU played 12 football games and never left North Carolina.

EAGLES, BLUE HOSE ON THE MOVE: Both NCCU and Presbyterian are in the third year of reclassification (Exploratory Year, Year One, Year Two) to the NCAA Division I-FCS (Football Championship Subdivision).

ABOUT PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE: Founded in 1880, Presbyterian College is located in Clinton, South Carolina, and boasts an enrollment of 1,200 students. The Blue Hose are members of the Big South Conference and are transitioning members of NCAA Division I-FCS.

BOTH QUARTERBACKS STARTING FIRST COLLEGE GAME: NCCU red-shirt freshman quarterback Keon Williams is scheduled to start his first college game on Saturday (Oct. 11) against Presbyterian, replacing injured starter Stadford Brown. Likewise, Presbyterian red-shirt freshman Brandon Miley is slated to start against the Eagles in relief of injured starter Tim Webb, who made his first career start in PC's first ever meeting with North Carolina Central in 2007.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BLUE HOSE LOCKER ROOM?: Presbyterian is known for its high-power offense. The Blue Hose finished third in the NCAA Division I-FCS ranks a year ago with an average of 480.9 total yards per game, while averaging 339.2 total yards this season. Oddly enough, while scoring at least 41 points in each of the first, second and fourth quarters, Presbyterian has yet to score in the third quarter.

GILBERT INCREASES SCHOOL SCORING RECORD: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert made all four extra-point kicks against North Carolina A&T on Saturday, Oct. 4 to increase his school scoring record to 247 career points.

GILBERT CONTINUES EXTRA POINT STREAK: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert has made 93 consecutive extra-point kicks, dating back to Sept. 5, 2005 versus North Carolina A&T when a celebration penalty forced a lengthy try. In fact, Gilbert has not missed an extra-point kick against a Division II opponent during his collegiate career. He is 136-of-138 in PAT kicks, with both misses coming against Division I-AA teams (at Delaware State on Sept. 11, 2004, vs. North Carolina A&T on Sept. 5, 2005).

BROWN'S STATUS IN THE NCCU RECORD BOOKS: NCCU senior quarterback Stadford Brown has already solidified himself as one of the top Eagle signal callers in school history. In only his third season at NCCU, Brown currently ranks fourth in career passing yards (5,202), third in pass completions (399), third in touchdown passes (46), and fourth in total offense (5,207).

TOUCHDOWN PASSING STREAK FOR NCCU'S BROWN: NCCU senior quarterback Stadford Brown has thrown a touchdown pass in 16 consecutive games, dating back to the final contest of the 2006 season. In fact, the three-year Eagle has completed at least one touchdown pass in all but one game during his Eagle career (26 of 27), with the 2006 CIAA Championship Game versus Elizabeth City State University on Nov. 11 being the lone standout.

EAGLES DEFEAT RIVAL AGGIES FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE TIME: NCCU defeated long-time rival North Carolina A&T 28-27 on Oct. 4 at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The victory was the third straight in the series for NCCU, the longest such streak since the Eagles defeated the Aggies five times in a row from 1970-74.

GRAY BLASTS SCHOOL'S EIGHTH-LONGEST PUNT : NCCU sophomore punter Taylor Gray booted a 71-yard punt in the second quarter against Fayetteville State on Aug. 31, tying for the eighth-longest punt in school history.

HISTORIC STADIUM HOSTS HISTORIC RIVALRY: On Oct. 4, NCCU played rival North Carolina A&T for the 80th time in the series at historic Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. A crowd of 20,180 watched as the Eagles defeated the Aggies 28-27 inside the historic venue. Constructed in 1936, Memorial Stadium has played host to a speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, the Shrine Bowl from 1937 to 2000, and, more recently, the filming of the movie "Leatherheads," starring George Clooney, in April 2007.

FOUR EAGLES EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Four NCCU seniors - quarterback Stadford Brown, wide receiver Wayne Blackwell, place-kicker Brandon Gilbert and offensive lineman Jovan Olafioye - earned a spot on the 2008 Preseason All-Independent First Team by Phil Steele's 2008 College Football Preview magazine. Brown was also a repeat selection as the 2008 Preseason Independent Offensive Player of the Year.

LISTEN TO NCCU FOOTBALL ON WRJD 1410 AM OR VIA THE INTERNET: Every game of the 2008 North Carolina Central University Eagles football season will be covered by WRJD 1410 AM. Play-by-play announcer Chris Hooks will call all of the live action, starting with the pre-game show a half-hour prior to kickoff. Fans may also listen to the broadcast via the internet by visiting the NCCU Athletics web site at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Archived audio game broadcasts, interviews and highlights can be found at iTunes.com by searching for NCCU Athletics.