Seniors Ryan Carter (#6) and Jeremy Franklin (#80) connected on four receptions for 77 yards and gained more than 200 yards of offense in the loss to NCCU
Box Score
Durham, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University football team faced a sizable 59-0 defeat to Division I-AA North Carolina Central University in a rare Thursday evening contest inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. JCSU falls to 0-2 overall, while the Eagles open their 2010 season with a victory (1-0).
The Golden Bulls won the coin toss and chose to defer until the second half. N.C. Central drove 95 yards in 13 plays for their first touchdown, scored on a four yard pass from Keon Williams to Justin Manning. Redshirt freshman punter
Tyler Rabb (Shelby, NC) had his initial punt blocked and it traveled to the NCCU 45. After driving down into the red zone, the Eagles punched it in with a three yard run by Tim Shankle. Senior defensive lineman
Nicholas Banks (Denmark, SC) broke through the line to block the extra point, resulting in a 13-0 deficit. By the end of the first half, the Golden Bulls trailed 26-0 with only two yards rushing on six attempts.
JCSU lost two fumbles in the first half and had a 9:56 time of possession compared to 20:04 for NCCU. Eight penalties totaling in a loss of 66 yards was also a setback by halftime. Senior quarterback
Ryan Carter (Charlotte, NC) amassed most of the offense with 164 yards passing, completing 13-of-28 attempts.
N.C. Central maintained control throughout the contest, scoring 16 in the third and 17 in the fourth. The last two NCCU scores came off turnovers. James Reese recovered a fumble off a bad snap to the punter and returned it nine yards for a TD. Junior quarterback
Robert Johnson (Winston-Salem, NC) entered the game in the final minutes. Unfortunately, Johnson had a passed intercepted across the middle and returned 83 yards for a touchdown by Roger Stewart.
Johnson C. Smith totaled 233 yards of offense (187 passing, 46 rushing), while N.C. Central had 298 yards of total offense. But five turnovers (3 fumbles lost, 2 interceptions) were too much for the Golden Bulls to overcome and be competitive. J.C. Smith finished the night 3-of-11 on third down conversions and 0-of-3 on fourth down.
Senior receiver
Jeremy Franklin (Casselberry, FL) concluded the game with four catches and 77 yards, all earned in the first half. Senior defensive back Girard Miller (Winston-Salem, NC) tallied nine tackles, while senior linebacker Mike Morgan (Sumter, SC) had five tackles including a sack for a loss of seven.
Williams and Shankle carried the load for the Eagles. Williams only had 110 yards passing; completing 14 of his 22 pass attempts with four TDs. Shankle had 86 yards on the ground off 15 carries and one touchdown.
The Golden Bulls return to Charlotte, NC for their home opener on Saturday, September 11th against West Virginia Institute of Technology inside Irwin Belk Complex. The contest is themed “Red, White, & Bull” and athletics will recognize the men and women of our US Armed Services for the contest. Kickoff is schedule for 2:00 pm on McGirt Field. These two teams met last season for the first time and WV Tech earned a 49-39 victory on their home field. JCSU will be looking for their revenge.
