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North Carolina Central solidified themselves as the best football team in the MEAC with a 38-24 homecoming victory over the Norfolk State Spartans. The Eagles move to 8-1 on the year and are 3-0 in the conference. The Spartans, on the other hand, were already struggling when they ran into the buzzsaw that is North Carolina Central. They fall to 2-7 on the year and are winless in the conference.
Norfolk State actually drew first blood in the game. With new starting quarterback Cameron Sapp at the helm, the Spartans managed to go up 3-0 on the Eagles after a field goal.
The Spartans' only lead of the game did not last long. North Carolina Central responded on their next possession. Quarterback Davius Richard had two big completions to tight end Joaquin Davis and receiver Quentin McCall to get his team into the red zone. Running back Latrell Collier gave the Eagles the 7-3 advantage with a rushing touchd0wn. Collier extended his body at the goal line to get the ball past the end zone paint, despite the tacklers impeding his progress.
Norfolk State's offense petered out quickly in their next drive, resulting in a punt. The Eagles jumped out to a commanding 14-3 lead after Richard found receiver Devin Smith for a 38-yard touchdown.
After another Spartan punt, the Eagles extended their lead to 21-3 with another touchdown. This time, Richard connected with receiver Miles Campbell for a 31-yard touchdown. North Carolina Central continued to pour points onto the Spartans' heads once they got the ball back. Cameron Sapp got strip sacked after the Campbell touchdown, and Eagle defensive lineman Christian Smith recovered the football. The Eagles continued to move the ball efficiently, though this time they scored on a tough touchdown run from their quarterback Davius Richard.
Many teams would have quit after going down 28-3 against the #9 team in the FCS. Norfolk State, however, kept fighting.
Once Sapp got warmed up from the first few possessions, the Spartan offense kicked into another gear. They finally had some success moving the ball. They closed the gap to 28-10 thanks to a beautiful lofty throw from Sapp to his receiver Ikeem Wright for a 23-yard touchdown.
The Spartans seemed to gain some momentum as a series of penalties forced the Eagles to punt, but a fumbled handoff killed Norfolk State's offensive drive. Still, another defensive stand which included a sack and a dropped pass helped keep the Eagles out of the end zone before the half. Norfolk State almost had a Hail Mary completion at the very end of the second quarter, but the ball got batted out of the receiver's hands at the last second.
The Spartan defense continued to show out at the start of the third quarter by forcing the Eagles to punt on their opening drive. Both the pass and run game hit on all cylinders to start, though receiver Elyjah Mitchell nearly jeopardized the possession with a wild fumble off a reception. He tried to spin out of a tackle, but instead, the ball flew backward, luckily towards a group of Spartan linemen.
Norfolk State moved the ball with relative ease, converting on each third down, and scored the opening touchdown of the half. Running back Kevon King received the ball in the wildcat formation, following his blockers in for the touchdown.
For the first time that evening, the Eagles felt pressure to deliver. The offense sputtered again, and as the Spartans scored again off a 19-yard wide receiver screen to Xzavion Evans, North Carolina Central faced a one-score game seemingly out of nowhere. The Spartans trailed 28-24 as the Eagles took over heading into the fourth quarter.
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Fortunately for North Carolina Central fans, the offense had one last burst in them. In particular, the ground game proved effective for the first time, which also helped burn time off the clock. The Eagles took a somewhat commanding 35-24 lead over Norfolk State, but their defense still needed to show up.
The defense sort of showed up, but they got some help from Norfolk State's offense. Cameron Sapp and the Spartans moved the ball almost effortlessly and once again threatened to cut the lead to single digits. They could've gotten to the goal line had a receiver not dropped a pass, which ended up being a death knell for Norfolk State. A couple of penalties pushed the Spartans from deep in the red zone back toward the 30-yard line. On third down, Sapp finally got sacked, which pushed the offense out of field goal range. They had no choice but to go for it on fourth and 27, but Sapp's pass attempt fell incomplete.
Richard and the Eagle offense took advantage of the situation. With a full field ahead of them, the Eagles wisely chose to drain the clock. They stuck exclusively to the ground game, forcing Norfolk State to burn their timeouts. With just over a minute-and-a-half remaining, the Eagles kicked a field goal to take the 38-24 lead.
Sapp and his receivers still managed to connect a few more times, but there just wasn't enough time left on the clock. On fourth down, Sapp threw his first and only interception of the game. North Carolina Central walked away unscathed, but Norfolk State definitely put up a fight.
All things considered, the Spartans offense had a decent outing, especially behind a new quarterback in Cameron Sapp. Sapp went 14-30 through the air for 192 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Sapp led all rushers with 79 yards on 16 carries. Kevon King finished behind his quarterback with 43 yards and a touchdown on his 11 carries. Tavian Morries led all receivers with six catches for 69 yards.
Davius Richard completed nine of his 16 passing attempts for 151 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with receiver Devin Smith three times for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Richard also had 10 rushing attempts for 50 yards and a touchdown. Latrell Collier led the Eagles with 68 yards and a touchdown on his 18 carries.
The Spartans catch somewhat of a break next week. They play the only team behind them in the MEAC standings, Delaware State University, who sit at 1-8 on the year with no conference victories.
For North Carolina Central, the Eagles travel to Washington, D.C. for a matchup against the 4-5 (2-1 in MEAC) Howard Bison.
