Oct. 14, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE GAME: North Carolina Central Univ. "Eagles" vs. Coastal Carolina Univ. "Chanticleers"

THE KICKOFF: Saturday, October 18, 2008 - Kickoff at 7:00 p.m.

THE SITE: Brooks Stadium (7,322 capacity/natural grass surface) - Conway, S.C.

2008 RECORDS: North Carolina Central (1-5 overall); Coastal Carolina (3-4 overall, 0-2 Big South)

THE EVENT: After going eight years without playing in South Carolina (Sept. 9, 2000 at Benedict College), NCCU returns to the Palmetto State in back-to-back weeks. Coastal Carolina will also be the Eagles' second straight Big South opponent after losing the Presbyterian College last week. This will be NCCU's sixth consecutive game away from home. Coastal Carolina celebrates "Hall of Fame Day."

THE SERIES: This will be the first gridiron meeting between NCCU and Coastal Carolina.

LAST WEEK FOR NCCU: (Presbyterian 28, North Carolina Central 24 - Clinton, S.C.) North Carolina Central University battled back from an 18-point second-half deficit with an opportunity to defeat Presbyterian College from the 1-yard line. The visiting Eagles, however, fumbled the snap from center on first-and-goal and Presbyterian recovered the loose ball to secure a 28-24 victory at Bailey Memorial Stadium in Clinton, S.C. NCCU trailed 28-10 late in the third quarter after Presbyterian tight end Sam Wilson caught a 44-yard pass from Brandon Miley for a touchdown with 3:21 left in the third stanza. The Eagles, playing in their fifth straight game away from home, appeared down and out after the score. However, freshman quarterback Michael Johnson came off the bench to rally the Eagles offense. On only his fourth college snap from center, Johnson connected with Will Scott for a 52-yard touchdown strike to give NCCU a ray of hope with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter. The NCCU defense forced Presbyterian into two punts and a missed field goal before the Eagles struck again, this time on a 24-yard Johnson pass to Wayne Blackwell. Brandon Gilbert's 96th consecutive extra-point kick pulled the Eagles to within 28-24 with 3:54 left in the game. NCCU head coach Mose Rison showed a lot of faith in his defensive unit by booting the ensuing kickoff deep, rather than attempt an onsides kick. The Eagles defense did not let him down, forcing a Blue Hose punt on a three-and-out series and giving NCCU the ball with 2:07 on the clock. On third down and six yards to go from the NCCU 44-yard line, Johnson threw a 37-yard post pass to Deshawn Spears, who made a diving catch at the Presbyterian 19-yard line. On the next play, sophomore running back Tony McCord found enough running room on the right side to cover 18 yards to the 1-yard line. Presbyterian called timeout with 47 seconds left in the contest, as the Eagles were staring at first down and goal and only three feet from a dramatic come-from-behind victory. On a quarterback sneak play, Johnson mishandled the snap from center and the ball was up for grabs near the goal line. After the officials uncovered the pile of blue and white jerseys, it was Presbyterian sophomore lineman Bryan McDaniel who came away with the fumble to preserve the victory for the host Blue Hose. Johnson came off the bench to complete 8-of-9 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns in his college debut. Spears and Blackwell caught five passes each for 83 and 47 yards, respectively. Scott had four receptions for 75 yards. NCCU managed its second straight 100-yard ground effort with 123 rushing yards, led by McCord's 80 yard. Sophomore fullback George Mobley scored his first touchdown as an Eagle. NCCU's starting quarterback Keon Williams completed 6-of-11 passes for 36 yards before leaving the game following a hard helmet-to-helmet hit in the third quarter. There were several standouts on the NCCU defense. Three Eagles, sophomore lineman Teryl White, sophomore safety Jeffery Henderson and senior linebacker Troy McConico, recorded eight tackles each. Sophomore cornerback David Ingram collected seven stops with a fumble recovery, an interception and a pass break-up, while linebacker Alex Winters grabbed an interception as one of three Eagle takeaways. NCCU finished with 318 yards of total offense, compared to 336 total yards by the Blue Hose.

LAST WEEK FOR COASTAL CAROLINA: (VMI 47, Coastal Carolina 20 - Lexington, Va.) Coastal Carolina University gave up 28 unanswered points in the second half and fell at VMI, 47-20, on Oct. 11 in a Big South Conference game. With their second straight conference loss, the Chanticleers fell to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in Big South play, while the Keydets moved to 3-3 and 1-0 in the league with their first Big South win in over three years. The Keydets dominated the statistics by posting 546 yards of total offense as compared to just 252 for the Chants, while controlling the ball for 35:18 of the clock. VMI, the top rushing team in the country, had 336 yards of rushing on the day on 59 carries and outgained Coastal Carolina through the air 210-151.

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.

Coastal Carolina Head Coach David Bennett (Presbyterian, '84) is in his sixth season at Coastal Carolina with a 42-21 record and 105-38 overall in his 13th year as a head coach. At Catawba, he led the Indians to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, including a run into the national semifinal round in 2001.

JOHNSON WILL START UNDER CENTER FOR NCCU: NCCU rookie quarterback Michael Johnson will start under center for the Eagles on Saturday (Oct. 18) at Coastal Carolina. The Durham, N.C. native appeared in his first college game last week at Presbyterian, entering the contest in the third quarter and rallying the Eagles for two touchdowns and a near come-from-behind victory. Johnson completed 8-of-9 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

BROTHER VERSUS BROTHER: NCCU freshman James Reese, a back-up safety for the Eagles, will be on the same field as his brother, Whittmin Reese, on Saturday. Whittmin is a senior starting corner back at Coastal Carolina. The brothers, each graduates of Southern High School in Durham, N.C., both wear jersey number 26.

A FAMILIAR FACE ON THE CHANTICLEERS' SIDELINE: Former NCCU assistant football coach Antoine Rivens is now the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at Coastal Carolina. Rivens spent four seasons on the Eagles' sideline, serving as assistant head coach and offensive line coach under head coach Rudy Abrams. Current NCCU outside linebackers coach Gilbert Wiggins was NCCU's defensive coordinator on the same staff with Rivens.

EAGLES ON THE ROAD AGAIN: NCCU will play its sixth consecutive road game on Saturday (Oct. 18) in Conway, S.C., marking the Eagles' second consecutive week playing in the Palmetto State. 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.

GILBERT INCREASES SCHOOL SCORING RECORD: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert made all three extra-point kicks and a field goal against Presbyterian on Saturday, Oct. 11 to increase his school scoring record to 253 career points.

GILBERT CONTINUES EXTRA POINT STREAK: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert has made 96 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 139-of-141 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.

NCCU QUARTERBACK BROWN OUT WITH FRACTURED COLLARBONE: Moments before the end of the first half against North Carolina A&T on Oct. 4, NCCU senior quarterback Stadford Brown suffered a fractured collarbone when he was sacked on a third down play. Brown had surgery Oct. 13 and is likely to miss the remainder of the season.

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 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.