Oct. 16, 2004
Durham, NC - The state of North Carolina has many college rivalries that are separated by only a small stretch of Interstates 40 and 85. Those rivalries are rekindled every college football and basketball season but lie far from dormant in the offseason. There is the storied UNC-Chapel Hill versus Duke rivalry, the Wake Forest rivalries against both UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, and off course the Winston-Salem State University versus North Carolina Central University feud that has been going on for almost 60 years.
The Eagles got the best of that rivalry on Saturday evening in Durham, NC as they defeated the Rams by the score of 35-33 to improve to 6-2 overall (4-1 CIAA) on the season and improve to 18-20 all-time versus Winston-Salem State University.
The game started out looking exactly as Ram fans had hoped as WSSU reeled off 11 plays from scrimmage that netted them positive yardage on each one, setting up what looked to be an easy touchdown chance from the Eagle 4-yard line. However, a miscue on the exchange between senior center Brian Scott (Sr./Oxford, NC) and senior quarterback Josh McGee (Sr./Lewisville, NC) resulted in a turnover that NCCU was the grateful recipient of and the Rams saw their touchdown hopes fall by the wayside.
First quarter action saw the remainder of the first period of play prove to be uneventful with neither team able to break into the other's endzone. Despite racking up 61 yards of total offense (54 yards rushing) the Rams were not able to put points on the board as both teams headed to the second quarter looking to draw first blood.
It would be the Eagles who would do just that as they capped a seven-play, 67-yard drive with a Greg Pruitt six-yard touchdown run on second and goal to put NCCU on the board first. A Brandon Gilbert PAT was successful and the Eagles led 7-0 with 13:35 left to play in the first half.
|
|
 |
The NCCU second-quarter scoring was not complete as exactly four minutes later they would get another touchdown, this time courtesy of the passing game as Jackson State University transfer Torey Ross slipped through the CIAA's ninth-ranked (out of twelve) passing defense and reeled in a 20-yard touchdown reception from Adrian Warren. Following Gilbert's second PAT of the evening, the Rams saw themselves staring at a 14-point deficit trailing 14-0.
WSSU, not to be outdone, answered back five minutes later as they capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive with a Stan Wright (So./Durham, NC) 13-yard touchdown reception. The play, a trick-play, saw the Rams line up with no wideouts, and saw Wright slip through the defense and catch a perfectly placed pass from Joshua McGee. The play was not the only bit of strategy employed by Blount on the drive as the Rams looked to be punting on fourth and one from the 50-yard line. With the punt unit on the field, the Rams long counted and drew an NCCU encroachment penalty to earn a first down via penalty, a call that Stan Wright eventually made look like a bit of genius with his third touchdown catch of the season. However, Matt Hind would miss the PAT and the Rams would trail 14-6 with three minutes remaining in the half. That is how the half would come to a close, with WSSU trailing the host team Eagles by eight points at 14-6.
The second half of play would see yet another of NCCU's 11 Division I transfers make another contribution as Eric Lyons was on the receiving end of an Adrian Warren touchdown pass to put the Eagles up 21-6 after Gilbert's third PAT of the night.
The Rams once again answered back immediately as they used a five-play, 70-yard drive that took only 1:23 off of the clock when Martin Hicks single-handedly put WSSU back into contention with an 18-yard touchdown run. Hicks accounted for all 70-yards on the drive as he forged ahead for yet another 100+-yard game. The Rams' two-point conversion try was no good and WSSU trailed by only nine points at 21-12.
 |
"Yeah it was a devastating loss, but at the same time, we played well, both offensively and defensively, it is just tonight, they prevailed"
WSSU Quarterback Josh McGee
|
Following in the footsteps of the Ram offense, the defense would respond on the very next drive. Backed up deep into Eagle territory Rashad Reaves (Pittsboro, NC) powered his way through the Eagle offensive line and not only sacked NCCU quarterback Adrian Warren, but forced a fumble, one that he would recover only seconds later.
WSSU wasted no time in capitalizing as Jed Bines took only two plays to put the finishing touches on a two-play, eight-yard drive that elapsed only 41 seconds to allow the Rams to pull to within two points of the host-team Eagles at 21-19.
The Rams had the chance to pull ahead on their final drive of the third quarter but after failing to punch the ball into the endzone in the red zone, the Rams had to settle for a Matt Hind (Jr./Clemmons, NC) field goal attempt. Despite having the distance, Hind's 24-yard kicked sailed wide left and the Rams would continue to trail the Eagles 21-19.
Despite the momentum shift towards the home team, the Rams and their CIAA-best rushing offense would not be denied. Martin Hicks (Jr./Oxford, NC) and Jed Bines (So./Winston-Salem, NC) accounted for every yard of the Rams' 12-play, 85-yard scoring drive that was capped by Hicks' three-yard touchdown run to help the Rams earn their first lead of the evening 26-21 with little more than nine minutes remaining.
The Eagles, one of the CIAA's best offensive teams immediately mounted a drive that would enable them to regain the lead. They closed out a five-play 67-yard scoring drive with a Maurice Glenn 18-yard touchdown reception. The Eagles then converted the two-point PAT to sit a comfortable three points ahead of the always dangerous Rams.
With 6:20 remaining on the clock, the Rams held their fate in their own hands and would look to the running game to deliver. The running game did just that as they got the Rams into position to tie the game with a field goal. However, on third and ten the Rams went to the passing attack and "Mr. Touchdown", Jared Brevard (Charlotte, NC) used his size and speed to snare a 22-yard Josh McGee touchdown pass to pull ahead 33-29 for what looked to be the game-winning score.
However, the Eagles would have one last hurrah, and in the case of this game...two extra. An Adrian Warren 48-yard pass got the Eagles within range and two plays later he would fire a ball towards the enzone that was tipped away by Nathaniel Biggs (Fr./Durham, NC). However, flags flew and the Eagles would see one more play with no time on the clock. That is all it would take as Donnie Pippen dove into the endzone from two-yards out and the Eagles would prevail 35-33. With the loss the Rams fall to 2-6 overall and 2-3 in the CIAA.
WSSU returns to action next weekend as they travel to Charlotte, NC to take on the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith University at 6:00 pm at the Irwin Belk Football Complex.
