CIAA Football Week in Review
For the week ending September 23, 2006 (Week 5) 

    Defense was the theme of the day as North Carolina Central forced seven turnovers, including a season-high six interceptions, as the Eagles downed Division I-AA Southern University, 27-20 yesterday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

On their opening drive of the game, Southern used eleven plays to move the ball down to the NCCU 10-yard line.  The Eagle defense stiffened and quickly turned the tables on the Jaguars when defensive back Craig Amos picked off  J.C. Lewis' pass at the NCCU 4-yard line and returned it 96-yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Eagle lead.  In the second quarter, another interception by defensive lineman Courtney Coard led to 29-yard field goal by Brandon Gilbert as the Eagles opened up a 10-0 halftime lead on their opponents from the SWAC. 

NCCU extended its lead in the third quarter when Gilbert capped an eight-play, 56-yard drive with a 20-yard field goal for a 13-0 lead.  On their next possession, NCCU quarterback Stadford Brown hooked up with Charles Futrell on a 73-yard touchdown pass as the Eagles opened up a 20-0 lead on the Jaguars with 8:22 left in the third quarter.

Southern would finally get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Lewis threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Evan Alexander to cut NCCU's lead to 20-7.  The Eagles responded on their next possession as Greg Pruitt broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run as NCCU pushed the lead back to 27-7. 

Southern would cut the lead to 27-20 on a pair of late fourth quarter scores by C.J. Byrd, one on a 16-yard run and another on a 37-yard pass to Gerard Landry, but following an unsuccessful onside kick, the Eagles would run out the clock to preserve the 27-20 win.

Next Saturday NCCU (4-0, 2-0 CIAA) travels to Maryland to face Bowie State in the Prince George's Classic. The game marks a rematch of the 2005 CIAA Championship Game, which the Eagles won 26-23.

Conference Scoreboard

Livingstone                    7                      Bowie State                3
Newberry                       49                   Elizabeth City State   33                   NCCU                            27                    Southern                     20 
Mars Hill                       14                    Saint Augustine's       7                    
Saint Paul's                    24                    Fayetteville State       21        
Maine                            66                    Shaw                           12                  
Carson-Newman            27                    Virginia State             21                                          
Johnson C. Smith          40                    Virginia Union            37       

PLAYERS OF THEWEEK

September 23, 2006

­OffensiveLineman

Robert Duncan-North Carolina Central, C, 6'0", SR,Winston-Salem,NC

On the road in BatonRouge,Louisiana, Duncan provided protection as the Eagles racked up 291 yards of total offense (124 rushing, 167 passing) in a 27-20 victory over Division I-AA opponent Southern University. 

Receiver

Charles Futrell -North Carolina Central,WR, 6'6", 200, SR, Fayetteville,NC

Futrell caught four passes for acareer-high 140 yards, including a career-long 73-yard touchdown reception whichput the Eagles up 20-0 in the third quarter. 

Offensive Back

Curtis Rich,Jr.- Elizabeth City State, QB, 6'3",185, JR, Fort Washington,MD

In a 33-49 loss to Newberry College, Rich completed 15-of-30 receptions for 203 yards and four touchdowns (3 in the second half) in a late rally by the Vikings. His longest pass of the game was for 45 yards.

Defensive Lineman

Courtney Coard -North Carolina Central, NG, 5'10", 269, JR, Charlotte,NC

Coard collected two interceptions and had a pass break-up from his nose guard position, while racking up 3 tackles(1 solo 2 assisted) to help aide in the Eagles' 27-20 victory over Southern University. 

Defensive Back

Brian Dennis-Saint Paul's, DB, 6'0", 186, SO, Ft Lauderdale,FL

Dennis was all over the field as heblocked a punt and returned it for a 30-yard touchdown early in the first quarter, collected 8 tackles (6 solo, 2 assisted) including 2 tackles for a loss of nine yards and hauled in an interception with 42 seconds left in the contest to seal a 24-21 victory over Fayetteville State University.

Rookie

Stafford Brown-North Carolina Central, QB, 6'1", FR, Washington,DC

Brown kept his composure as he completed 10-of-20 passes (no interceptions) for 167 yards and a touchdown to guide the Eagles to a 27-20 road win against Southern University. 

Speciality

De'Audra Dix -Johnson C. Smith, CB/DB, 5'10", 180, JR, Merritt Island,FL

In a game which went into 5 overtimes, Dix was phenomenal for the Golden Bulls Special Teams as he blocked two field goals, brought back a punt return for a 40-yard touchdown and returned a kick-off 91yards for a touchdown as Johnson C. Smith defeated Virginia Union, 40-37.

Coach

Robert Massey-Livingstone College

Coach Massey guided the Blue Bearsto their first win of the season by  defeating Bowie State University 7-3 in Saturday's CIAA action on the gridiron.