DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University football team got back into the win column in an emphatic way Saturday evening at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium, upending rival North Carolina A&T 66-24 in the Aggie-Eagle Classic.
The Eagles (2-2) snapped a two-game skid and picked up their first home win of 2024.
The Aggies struck on the opening kickoff, when Aaron Harris went the length of the field–100 yards–to give North Carolina A&T a 6-0 lead after a failed PAT.
But N.C. Central immediately responded, marching 65 yards in eight plays before Walker Harris connected with Joaquin Davis from 14 yards out to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead.
NCAT took a 9-7 lead at the 7:16 mark of the first quarter after Andrew Brown kicked a 27-yard field goal.
That was the Aggies’ last lead of the night.
On the ensuing drive, J’Mari Taylor scampered 66 yards for the touchdown with 5:51 left in the frame, and in the first quarter’s final minute, Harris threw a second touchdown pass–this one a 60-yarder to Markell Quick.
The Eagles led 20-9 after 15 minutes.
Special teams got in on the action early in the second quarter, when Trey Goodridge blocked a punt in the end zone to put the Eagles up 27-9. Taylor added a 5-yard touchdown run at the 7:36 mark to open a 34-9 lead, before the Aggies got another Brown field goal.
Harris added a 2-yard scoring run of his own with 58 seconds left in the half, capping off a 5-play, 75-yard drive to send the Eagles into the locker room with a 40-12 lead.
Harris threw his third touchdown pass of the night, a 6-yarder to Chauncey Spikes, with 5:10 left in the third quarter to give N.C. Central a 46-12 lead. Justin Fomby got the Aggies back on the board with a 3-yard run, before Malcolm Reed got the Eagles defense involved with an 11-yard fumble return at the 1:37 mark of the period.
At that point, N.C. Central led 53-18.
Javion Martin and Joshua Jones both threw their first career touchdown passes in the second half. Martin’s came at the 1:08 mark of the third quarter, a 46-yarder to Mekhi Wall, and Jones had a 15-yard strike to Aleni Mageo in the final two minutes.
The Eagles will open conference play this coming Saturday, Sept. 28, when they head to Indianapolis, Ind., for the Circle City Classic against Norfolk State. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET, and the game will air on ESPNU.
With the Win…
- Head coach Trei Oliver improves to 31-20 overall and 3-2 over North Carolina A&T.
- The Eagles have won the last three games in the series. Dating back to 2011, the two teams have traded three-game winning streaks in the head-to-head.
- In Durham, the Eagles are now 20-17-1 against the Aggies.
- Oliver is now 4-3 against teams from the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA, formerly Colonial Athletic Association).
- Since 2011, the Eagles have gone 21-21 against teams from North Carolina, and Oliver is 9-6 against teams from the Tar Heel State.
- Under Oliver, N.C. Central is 16-12 in non-conference games and 14-4 over the last two-plus seasons.
Game Notes
- 66 points are the most scored by N.C. Central in the series against the Aggies.
- Before Saturday, the last time the Eagles scored 60 points in a game was Oct. 26 of last season–a 62-28 win over South Carolina State.
- Prior to that, N.C. Central’s last 60-point game was Sept. 17, 2016 against St. Augustine’s (65-7).
- Quarterback Walker Harris threw for a season-high three touchdowns while accounting for four total touchdowns.
- Harris completed 15 of 21 passes for 244 yards.
- Running back J’Mari Taylor ran for 126 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.
- Taylor has at least one touchdown in every game this season, and this is his second 100-yard effort.
- In the Aggies’ win, 10 different receivers caught passes.
- Markell Quick was the leading receiver, with 109 yards on four catches.
- All three Eagle quarterbacks threw a touchdown Saturday night.
Source: Maurice D. Williams/nccueaglepride.com
