Charles GreenNorth Carolina Central University took a loss in its first home game of the season against the New Hampshire University Wildcats on Aug. 30 with a score of 27-10, leaving N.C. Central with a 1-1 record.
The Wildcats’ defense posed a challenge with their strong pass coverage, generating 20 dropped catches by N.C. Central, who returned home to O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium from their televised win against Southern University at the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Aug. 23.
Wide receiver Mehki Wall, a junior, scored the only Eagles touchdown after a 65-yard pass in the third quarter. N.C. Central’s offense struggled throughout the game with both passing and rushing. The special team also faced their own challenges, having several kicks fall short early on.
“We got to work to get better and pay attention to detail,” N.C. Central Head Football Coach Trei Oliver told reporters after the game.
“I don’t know what happened to our rushing game today. I don’t know if we’re reading newspaper clippings and we think that we’re a little bit better than we are, but we’ve just got to play better—bottom line. And I got to coach better,” Oliver said.
The last meeting between these two teams was in 2022 and resulted in an Eagle victory with a score of 45-27. New Hampshire got the better of N.C. Central in their second head-to-head.
The first quarter was slow, setting the tone for the Eagles for the rest of the game. The quarter ended in 0-0, with the Eagles’ field goal attempt blocked by the Wildcats’ defensive tackle Cameron Garner-Young.
The Eagles’ defense held the Wildcats to just three points in the second quarter, allowing only a field goal.
But after a short, failed drive by the Eagles ended with a 16-yard punt, the Wildcats scored the first touchdown of the game. N.C. Central answered with an impressive showing from running back Chris Mosley, leading to a field goal right before the first half ended.
The second half, like the first, started with a slow defensive back and forth. Running back Chris Mosley, a redshirt senior, was the highlight of an otherwise quiet third quarter after hurdling over a Wildcat defender for a first down.
About halfway through the third quarter, New Hampshire pushed through N.C. Central’s defensive pressure, resulting in a touchdown, bringing the score to 16-3.
The Eagles’ response was quickly shut down with three failed drives and a punt, allowing the Wildcats to score yet another touchdown.
The Eagles were not able to complete necessary passes, with five dropped passes in the third quarter. But in the quarter’s final minutes, quarterback Walker Harris got off two quick passes leading to a last-minute touchdown, giving fans hope going into the fourth quarter.
Staring at a 14-point deficit, Coach Oliver tried to rally his guys for a last push against the Wildcats’ offense. But the momentum the N.C. Central offense created at the end of the third quarter did not carry over.
Although the defensive effort continued to impress, allowing only one field goal in the fourth, the offense was completely stagnant. An interception by New Hampshire secured the game with a final score of 27-10.
Despite the loss, the Eagles defense shined throughout most of the game. Head Coach Oliver said that this game was a teachable moment for his guys.
“We didn’t play well one night. We can’t get down on ourselves and let these people beat us again next week because we can’t get over this,” Oliver said. “We’ll watch the film. We’ll get it corrected.”
The Eagles’ loss on Saturday will not affect their standing in the MEAC conference.
The Eagles’ next face-off is on Sept. 6 in Norfolk, Virginia to take on a non-conference opponent, Old Dominion University, with a non-conference record of 0-1. The matchup at Foreman Field will stream on ESPN+.
