Nov. 19, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE GAME: Savannah State Univ. "Tigers" vs. North Carolina Central Univ. "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF: Saturday, November 22, 2008 - Kickoff at 1:00 p.m.

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

2008 RECORDS: Savannah State (5-6 overall); North Carolina Central (3-7 overall)

THE EVENT: North Carolina Central University celebrates "Senior Day" during the final game of the 2008 season. Eight Eagle seniors will be playing in their final college football game, and will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony. NCCU will be looking to end its second Division I (FCS) campaign with consecutive victories, after defeating rival Winston-Salem State last week at home. In three previous meetings, the Eagles have yet to lose to the Tigers.

THE SERIES: This will be the fourth football meeting between Savannah State University and North Carolina Central University. NCCU leads the series 2-0-1. In the first-ever contest between the Tigers and Eagles, the two teams played to a 0-0 tie to open the 1974 season (Sept. 14, 1974) in Savannah, Ga. The following year in Durham, N.C., NCCU defeated the Tigers 30-0 in another season-opener on Sept. 13, 1975. Last season, NCCU earned a 30-14 road victory over Savannah State on Oct. 20, 2007.

THE LAST MEETING: (NCCU 30, Savannah State 14 - Oct. 20, 2007 - Savannah, Ga.) Although North Carolina Central University got off to a slow start, the Eagles eventually exploded for a season-high point total in a 30-14 victory over Savannah State University at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Ga. NCCU managed only 38 total yards in the first quarter, but finished the contest with 337 yards of total offense, including 179 yards of passing by sophomore quarterback Stadford Brown. Savannah State recorded 210 yards of total offense, but only 24 yards on 25 rushing attempts. Brown completed 18-of-33 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown, while Justin Campbell topped the Eagles ground game with 74 yards and a score on 14 carries. The NCCU defense was topped by linebacker D.J. Fretwell and lineman Paul Johnson with six tackles each, while twin brothers Derrick and Eric Ray added five hits apiece. SSU quarterback Greg McCrary finished with 186 yards and a touchdown on 11-of-23 passing. Junior defensive back Chris Herans led the SSU defense with 14 tackles, including 1.5 hits for a loss with a sack and a forced fumble.

LAST WEEK FOR NCCU: (NCCU 23, Winston-Salem State 16 - Durham, N.C.) On a sloppy and slippery O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium turf, North Carolina Central University took advantage of four Winston-Salem State University turnovers and a special teams miscue to defeat the rival Rams 23-16 on Saturday in Durham, N.C. A stifling NCCU defense forced four turnovers with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, while recording 10 tackles for a loss with six sacks and holding the Rams to only 1-of-10 third down conversions. Several Eagle defenders enjoyed possibly the best games of their careers. Senior lineman Eric Smalls recorded a team-best 12 tackles, including a sack. Sophomore safety Jeffery Henderson amassed 10 tackles with a sack and two forced fumbles. Senior linebacker Troy McConico collected 10 tackles with a hit for a loss and his first interception as an Eagle. Freshman cornerback David Ingram tallied five tackles and his team-leading third interception of the season. And sophomore safety Kurtis Campbell contributed two tackles for a loss with a sack and a fumble recovery. NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert scored 11 points, with field goals of 45, 28 and 34 yards, along with a pair of extra-point conversions to extend his consecutive streak to 103 PAT kicks. Gilbert's first field goal of 45 yards (11:46, 1st) was a season-long and made the senior the school's all-time leader in career field goals, with the standard now set at 43. WSSU evened the score at 3-3 with a 33-yard field goal by Adnan Kljajic at 7:55 of the second quarter. The visiting Rams took the lead courtesy of a six-play, 51-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard plunge by quarterback Jarrett Dunston with 3:08 left before the end of the first half. Trailing 10-3 at intermission, the Eagles stormed out of the locker room. Red-shirt freshman quarterback Keon Williams connected on back-to-back passes to Deshawn Spears for 32 yards and Will Scott for 17 yards to move the pigskin to the Rams' 11-yard line. On the next play, sophomore running back Tony McCord turned the corner and dove into the end zone for his first career touchdown, tying the score at 13:52 of the third quarter. McConico's interception return to the WSSU 16-yard line led to a 28-yard boot by Gilbert to put the Eagles on top 13-10 at 7:59 of the third stanza. On the next possession for WSSU, a high snap from center sailed over the punter's head and the Eagles took over at the 1-yard line. Fullback George Mobley bulled his way into the end zone on third-and-goal to provide a 20-10 cushion for NCCU at 4:06 of the third. WSSU answered with an eight-play, 70-yard drive to score a touchdown on a 1-yard dive by John Thompson with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. Kljajic missed the extra-point kick to keep the score 20-16 in favor of the Eagles. Midway through the fourth quarter, WSSU used a 52-yard dash by running back Nicholas Cooper to put the ball at the Eagles' 17-yard line. On third down and eight yards to go, however, Rams' signal caller Dunston was stripped of the ball by Henderson and Campbell fell on the fumble. NCCU drove 40 yards in 10 plays to set up Gilbert for his third field goal of the day, this time from 34 yards out with 2:52 left in the contest to make the score 23-16. With a chance to tie, WSSU completed a 13-yard pass on a third-and-14 play to bring up fourth down and a yard to go at the NCCU 29-yard line. For one last time, the Eagle defense stepped up big time, denying the Rams a first down on a rush attempt up the middle. WSSU out-gained the Eagles 192 total yards to 154. The Rams rushed for 167 yards and threw for 25, while NCCU ran for 80 yards and passed for 74. Williams completed 7-of-11 passes for 74 yards with an interception that slipped through a receiver's hands. For the Rams, Dunston completed 2-of-7 passes for 25 yards and rush for his ninth touchdown of the season, but he also threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles and was sacked six times. McCord topped the Eagles with 35 rushing yards, while Scott caught a team-best three passes for 31 yards.

LAST WEEK FOR SAVANNAH STATE: (Savannah State 24, Webber International 7 - Lake Wales, Fla.) Savannah State earned its third road victory of the season by defeating Webber International 24-7 at Lake Wales, Fla.

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.

Savannah State University named Robert "Robby" Wells as its new head football coach prior to the 2008 season, becoming the 21st football coach in SSU history. Wells last held the position of defensive coordinator and football marketing director for one season at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. In 2007, Benedict was ranked third in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in rushing defense, sacks and red zone defense. Prior, Wells served as the General Manager for the Augusta Spartans Arena Football Team in 2006. His duties included coaching, player personnel decisions, player development, team travel, fund raising and media relations. Wells got his first coaching job at a HBCU in 2002. From 2002-2005 Wells served as the defensive coordinator at South Carolina State University. Under his guidance, SCSU's defense attained numerous national rankings; 1st in pass defense efficiency, 4th in scoring defense, 6th in pass defense and 7th in total defense. Wells was also apart of the 2004 SCSU football coaching staff that led the Bulldogs to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship. Before joining South Carolina State, he spent four seasons at the University of South Carolina as a graduate assistant under USC legendary coach, Lou Holtz. Wells coached the defensive backs from 1998-1999 before moving to middle linebackers coach in 2000. The 18-year coaching veteran began his career as an assistant coach at Greer High School from 1990-1995. Wells received his first opportunity as a head coach at Murray High School from 1995-1997. As a player, Wells was a four-year letterman at Furman University as a fullback and wide receiver (1986-89). He was a member of the 1988 Furman NCAA Division I-AA National Championship team. Wells received his bachelor's in health and physical education from Furman in 1990 and his master's in adult education from the University of South Carolina in 2000.

EAGLES END SEASON'S LONG ROAD JOURNEY: NCCU played its seventh and last road game of the season on Saturday (Nov. 8) in San Luis Obispo, Calif. NCCU's seven total road games this season took the Eagles to five different states, including Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, South Carolina and California. The Cal Poly trip was 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 BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD FOR CAREER FIELD GOALS: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert made three field goals versus Winston-Salem State on Saturday, Nov. 15 to become the school's all-time leader in career field goals. He enters his final college contest with 43 career field goals, breaking the old school standard of 40 set by Kevin Houston (1992-95).

GILBERT INCREASES SCHOOL SCORING RECORD: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert made three field goals and two extra-point kicks versus Winston-Salem State on Saturday, Nov. 15 to increase his school scoring record to 275 career points.

GILBERT CONTINUES EXTRA POINT STREAK: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert has made 103 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 146-of-148 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).

BLACKWELL ONE OF THE TOP RECEIVERS IN NCCU HISTORY: NCCU senior receiver Wayne Blackwell enters his final college football game as one of the top receivers in school history. The Reidsville, N.C. native is tied for eighth on the school's all-time receptions list with 113 career catches, and ranks 12th in receiving yards with 1,413. He has also caught 15 touchdown passes.

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.

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.