ROBERT WILLETT - rwillett@newsobserver.com
NCCU's Justin Manning (36) scores the first touchdown of the season for the Eagles on a pass play from quarterback Keon Williams (14) after breaking a tackle by Johnson C. Smith's Girard Miller (15) in the first quarter on Thursday September 2, 2010 at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham , N.C.
DURHAM -- It had been 44 years since N.C. Central hosted a Thursday night game. It’s not likely the Eagles will wait that long again, considering the overwhelming performance they summoned under lights against Johnson C. Smith in their season-opener.
Relying on a sturdy offensive line and a thumping defense, the Eagles hammered the Golden Bulls in a 59-0 rout at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium before an announced crowd of 9,257. From the first drive, they controlled the game with a mix of power running and short yardage passing, handing coach Mose Rison his first season-opening victory in four seasons as head coach.
A five-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Keon Williams to fullback Justin Manning with nine minutes remaining in the first half stamped the Eagles’ dominance and essentially put the contest out of reach.
In the end, the Eagles amassed 298 total offensive yards, including 175 on the ground, and held their opponents to just 46 yards rushing.
The Eagles were successful without starting quarterback Michael Johnson, who stood on the sideline in athletic pants and shoulder pads.
N.C. Central sports information director Kyle Serba said Johnson missed Thursday’s game because he was not granted clearance to play by the NCAA. He said he could not provide specific information about Johnson’s status, though Johnson’s case involves continuing eligibility issues that every player must meet each season.
Serba said Johnson is not being investigated by the NCAA for any reason. He added that other players on the team were also sidelined for the same eligibility reasons.
Johnson, a former Durham Hillside High graduate, practiced throughout training camp and warmed-up in shorts and a T-shirt before the game. Serba said the team expected NCAA officials to clear Johnson to play before the game, as it did for several other players.
Williams, in just his fourth career start, led the Eagles in convincing fashion, completing 14 of 22 attempts for 110 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 62 yards.
It was his first start since Nov. 23, 2008. That season he started in the Eagles’ final two games, but remained a backup to Johnson last season.
Called upon, he left his nerves in the locker room. The Eagles opened the game with a six-minute, 13-play, 95-yard drive capped by a four-yard pass from Williams to Manning, a former Wakefield High graduate.
On that drive, running backs Tim Shankle and Tony McCord combined for 66 rushing yards, a harbinger for their heavy lifting throughout the game.
Shankle rushed for a game-high 86-yards on 15 carries, while McCord collected 46 yards on nine carries.
It was the Eagles’ first shut-out since defeating St. Augustine’s College 6-0 in 2007.
Expectations are higher for the Eagles this season as they enter their fourth season as a NCAA Division I Football Subdivision Championship team.
The past three seasons were spent making the transition from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a Division II conference. That has meant criss-crossing the country to play some the of the nation’s best FSC teams in order to raise funds to build a competitive program.
It’s also meant three consecutive losing seasons, including back-to-back 4-7 seasons, a disappointing stretch for a team went undefeated in 2006 and claimed its second consecutive CIAA championship.
The Eagles are in the final stage of the NCAA reclassification process and will be eligible to compete for post-season championships in 2011.
This season they are a provisional member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, though next season will be eligible to compete for the league title.
Status aside, the Eagles are approaching this season as a trial run for the future, hoping to showcase their adjustment to a higher level.
They have added a video scoreboard. They have added a new Mondoturf field. They have added depth with scholarships, up to a school-best 66 this season.
With those improvements off the field, the Eagles took every occasion to show where they were improved on the field.
Late in the fourth quarter, three JSCU players were ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct, having thrown punches. As officials convened, an altercation among spectators took place in the stands. N.C. Central campus police intervened.
Order restored, the Eagles continued its onslaught.
Kicker Frankie Cardelle nailed a 35-yard field goal with six minutes remaining. James Reese recovered a fumble on JCSU’s 9-yardline and scored a touchdown after a botched snap cleared the Golden Bulls punter Julius Wright’s head.
N.C. Central outside linebacker Roger Stewart added further headache for the Golden Bulls with an 83-yard interception returned for the game’s final touchdown.
A victory over the Division II Golden Bulls will only suffice as a solid beginning. The Eagles have stiffer challenges to come, with Appalachian State on Sept. 18 and MEAC foes North Carolina A&T on Sept. 25 and Hampton on Oct. 9.
