By Tiffany Williams –
DURHAM, N.C. — PleZ Lawrence turned in a dominant performance on the ground, rushing for 210 yards and three touchdowns as N.C. Central defeated North Carolina A&T 30-22 Friday afternoon at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium.
N.C. Central improved to 2-1 while North Carolina A&T fell to 0-3. The Eagles built a 23-14 halftime advantage, extended it to 30-14 in the third quarter and then survived a fourth-quarter push by the Aggies. The game drew 11,632 fans in Durham.
North Carolina A&T won the opening toss and deferred, giving N.C. Central the football first. Mehki Wall returned the kickoff 22 yards to the Eagles’ 25, and N.C. Central immediately began moving. Nelson Layne completed a 20-yard pass to Zion Dobson before Lawrence rushed for gains of nine, 10 and 16 yards, quickly pushing the Eagles deep into A&T territory.
The Aggies appeared to have stopped the opening march when Layne was sacked for seven yards and Lawrence lost another yard, leaving N.C. Central facing third-and-18 from the A&T 27. Layne responded with the biggest play of the possession, finding Wall for a 27-yard touchdown. Riley Daniels converted the extra point, completing an eight-play, 75-yard drive and giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 10:34 remaining in the first quarter.
A&T’s first possession immediately ran into trouble. After a fumble that Kevin White recovered for the Aggies, White appeared to connect with Jayvonne Dillard for 21 yards on third down, but a personal-foul penalty wiped out the play and backed A&T to its own 8. White’s third-and-20 pass fell incomplete, forcing DJ Page to punt.
N.C. Central took over at its own 42 and Lawrence immediately ripped off a 20-yard run. Layne followed with completions to Tyree Saunders and Chance Peterson as the Eagles moved to the A&T 21. The Aggies stopped the drive there, including another sack of Layne on third down, but Daniels connected on a 37-yard field goal with 5:04 remaining to increase the Eagles’ lead to 10-0.
The Aggies finally generated some momentum on their next possession. White used his legs for gains of six and seven yards and later completed a 21-yard pass to Michael Carlock-Williams, moving A&T into N.C. Central territory. The drive stalled at the Eagles’ 39, however, and Page’s punt pinned N.C. Central at its own 8.
That N.C. Central possession stretched into the second quarter. Dobson moved the chains twice on the ground, and an A&T unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty later gave the Eagles another first down at midfield. The Aggies eventually stopped the march when Layne was sacked for three yards, forcing Jake Marcantel to punt with 9:34 remaining in the half.
A&T’s next possession produced the first major turnover of the afternoon. Shimique Blizzard broke a 14-yard run to the A&T 32 and added three more on the following play. White then rushed up the middle but lost five yards and fumbled at the 30. Jaysen Oriol recovered for N.C. Central, giving the Eagles the football deep in Aggies territory.
N.C. Central needed only two plays to capitalize. Wall rushed for one yard, and a 15-yard facemask penalty moved the ball to the A&T 14. Lawrence took the next snap straight up the middle for a 14-yard touchdown with 7:00 remaining. A delay-of-game penalty preceded a missed extra point, but the Eagles had expanded their advantage to 16-0.
The Aggies answered with their first touchdown. White converted third-and-six with a 12-yard run and later found Carlock-Williams for four yards. After being sacked for a three-yard loss, White faced third-and-nine from his own 49 and delivered the explosive play A&T needed. He connected with Elijah Kennedy deep over the middle for a 51-yard touchdown, and Asher Holland’s extra point cut the deficit to 16-7 with 4:33 left in the half.
N.C. Central went three-and-out on its next possession, and A&T eventually punted the Eagles all the way back to their own 3 with 1:43 remaining. That field position hardly mattered to Lawrence.
On first down, Lawrence burst through the middle for 24 yards. On the very next snap, he broke loose again, racing 73 yards for a touchdown. The two-play, 97-yard drive lasted just 20 seconds, and Daniels’ extra point pushed N.C. Central’s advantage to 23-7 with 1:23 remaining before halftime.
A&T refused to allow the half to end quietly. White immediately found Kennedy for 28 yards and then connected with Dillard for 18 more. A 20-yard completion to J.T. Smith moved the Aggies to the N.C. Central 1. After Smith was stopped for a one-yard loss and White threw incomplete, White found Kennedy for a two-yard touchdown with eight seconds remaining. Holland converted the extra point, sending A&T into halftime trailing 23-14.
The Aggies received the second-half kickoff and began moving the football. Smith rushed for seven and five yards before White converted third-and-15 with a 19-yard completion to Dillard. But on the next play, Smith lost six yards and fumbled. Zarion Walters forced the ball loose, and Joshua Truesdale recovered at the A&T 45, giving N.C. Central another short field.
Once again, the Eagles converted an A&T turnover into a touchdown. Lawrence rushed for three yards before Layne found Reginald Lancaster for eight yards on third-and-eight. Lawrence added five more, and Layne then hit Nasim Cosby for 29 yards all the way to the Aggies’ 1. Lawrence finished the six-play drive himself, powering in from one yard for his third touchdown of the afternoon. Daniels’ extra point made it 30-14 with 8:00 remaining in the third quarter.
A&T’s next possession ended with another turnover. Smith opened with a 14-yard run, but two plays later White was intercepted by Truesdale at the N.C. Central 23. Truesdale returned the interception 20 yards to the 43, ending another Aggies opportunity.
Neither team scored again in the third quarter. N.C. Central punted on each of its next two possessions, while A&T also punted twice. White was sacked by Jayden Walker on one of those possessions, while the Aggies were repeatedly forced into difficult down-and-distance situations. The Eagles carried their 30-14 advantage into the fourth quarter.
N.C. Central opened the fourth by continuing to lean on Lawrence. He rushed for nine and three yards as the Eagles crossed into A&T territory. The Aggies eventually produced the stop they needed when Layne’s fourth-and-two pass from the A&T 36 fell incomplete, turning the football over on downs with 12:34 remaining.
A&T could not capitalize. White opened with a 14-yard completion to Kennedy but threw incomplete twice later in the possession, forcing Page to punt into the end zone. N.C. Central then moved to its own 35 before an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty helped derail the possession, and Marcantel eventually punted from his own 13.
Kennedy returned that punt 39 yards to the N.C. Central 35, and suddenly the Aggies had life with 7:40 remaining. White found Rory Jones-Amen-Hetep for seven yards before Kennedy rushed seven yards for a first down. Smith then carried nine yards to the 12.
A&T eventually faced fourth-and-two from the 13, and White kept the drive alive by completing a four-yard pass to Jayden White. Two plays later Blizzard rushed for three yards to the 6. On third-and-goal, Kevin White connected with Anthony Rucker for a six-yard touchdown with 4:20 remaining. Mark Tillman completed the two-point conversion pass, cutting N.C. Central’s lead to 30-22 and bringing the Aggies within one possession.
The A&T defense then gave its offense one final chance. Lawrence carried twice but gained only four net yards, and Layne’s seven-yard run on third-and-11 came up short. Marcantel punted, and Kennedy returned the ball seven yards to the A&T 35 with 2:01 remaining.
White began the final possession needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to force a tie. He completed passes to Jones-Amen-Hetep and Kennedy to move the chains, scrambled for gains of five and six yards and then connected with Jones-Amen-Hetep for 21 yards to the N.C. Central 3 with 14 seconds remaining. The Aggies had reached the doorstep of a potential tying score.
N.C. Central’s defense delivered the final blow. After an incomplete pass, White completed a pass to Rucker, but offensive pass interference against Jones-Amen-Hetep erased the play and backed A&T from the 3 to the 13. With five seconds remaining, White tried again, but Jakarri Martin II intercepted the pass in the end zone for a touchback. The interception ended the comeback and secured N.C. Central’s 30-22 victory.
Lawrence was the centerpiece of the Eagles’ offense, finishing with 210 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, averaging 9.5 yards per attempt. His 73-yard touchdown was the longest run of the game. Layne completed 13 of 19 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown without an interception, while Wall caught two passes for 31 yards and the game’s opening touchdown.
White carried much of the offensive load for A&T. He completed 21 of 44 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, but his two interceptions proved costly. He also led the Aggies in rushing with 42 yards on 13 attempts. Kennedy finished with seven receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by his 51-yard scoring reception in the second quarter.
The teams were separated by only eight yards of total offense, with N.C. Central finishing with 369 and A&T with 361. The difference came in how those yards were produced and what happened when possessions were on the line. The Eagles rushed for 223 yards, scored on all four of their red-zone opportunities and did not commit a turnover. A&T turned the football over four times, losing two fumbles and throwing two interceptions.
N.C. Central had built a 16-point advantage before A&T’s late rally made it a one-score game. The Aggies drove all the way to the Eagles’ 3 in the final seconds, but the offensive pass-interference penalty and Martin’s end-zone interception closed the door. Behind Lawrence’s 210-yard performance and a defense that forced four turnovers, N.C. Central walked away with the 30-22 victory.