Johnathon BackstromN.C. Central defeated conference rival Howard in a 26-3 performance Friday night. NCCU’s win moves them to 7-3 with one game left in the regular season.
The game started off very slow with defensive stops from both teams. The first quarter ended 3-0 with a Howard field goal. NCCU tried to put points up, but their kick got blocked.
The second quarter was more of the same. NCCU had many red zone trips, but repeatedly fell short, finishing the game 2-7 in red zone chances.
Despite a fumble and interception, the Eagles pushed through when quarterback Walker Harris threw a touchdown to running back Chris Mosley with 20 seconds left in the second. After missing another extra point attempt, NCCU would enter halftime with a 6-3 lead.
In the second half, the Eagles came out looking like a different team. Eagle running back J’Mari Taylor scored 3 touchdowns and finished with a total of 286 scrimmage yards, 208 yards rushing and 78 receiving.
The Bisons wouldn’t score for the rest of the game, going 0-13 on 3rd downs and 0-1 on 4th down conversions.
“Defense played lights out, that’s probably the best defensive performance since I been here,” NCCU Head Coach Trei Oliver said. “You hold somebody to 113 yards total offense, and we have over 500 and only score 26 points. They didn’t convert one third down whole game.”
Taylor put the dagger in the game with his 40-yard rushing touchdown.
“I come into the game with the same mindset of playing hard.” Taylor said.
What was supposed to be a celebration after a dominant conference win, turned into a post-game brawl when NCCU and Howard threw helmets and punches.
After an investigation from the MEAC, they announced Monday in a press release that 36 student-athletes and an assistant coach would be suspended.
The Eagles will travel to Dover, DE Saturday to play Delaware State in their last game.
