Defense wins scrimmage for Gray
 
By MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun
wmp@herald-sun.com
Apr 5, 2002 : 10:05 pm ET
 
It has been more than four months since N.C. Central faced against any outside competition on the football field. But when the Eagles lined up against each other on a chilly Friday night at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium for their Maroon & Gray game, they won the same way they did last fall.

With defense.

Well, at least the Gray team did.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Jason Brown returned a fumble for a 38-yard touchdown with just 2:15 left to give the Gray a 14-7 victory.

"It felt good, because I wasn’t getting anything all night,’’ said Brown, who is on the second unit on the defensive depth chart. "I was just lucky I guess. [Quarterback Maurice Glenn] fumbled, and the ball just rolled my way.’’

The touchdown broke the tie in a game where the clock ran constantly and the two teams combined for only 14 first downs.

None of the kicking game was live — Gerald Matkins did the punting for both teams, and the punt receivers simply attempted to fair catch the ball. Touchdowns simply counted for seven points.

The Maroon scored its only touchdown with 7:30 left in the first, when Glenn hit Nathaniel Fitch for a 41-yard score after the ball was tipped high into the air by a defensive back.

The Gray team tied the score on Ernest Rice’s 2-yard run with 13:15 left in the game, ending a methodical seven-play, 63-yard drive.

"We’re kind of in the same position we’ve always been in,’’ said NCCU’s fourth-year coach Rudy Abrams, who is looking to better last season’s 5-4 mark. "We’re still looking for the new kids we bring in to help us.

"I wouldn’t say anything surprised us out of spring practice. But [linebacker] Chris Stowe showed he should be able to help us. We’ve spent a lot of time with the quarterbacks and receivers, and I think we made some progress. Our defense should be good again, but it seems like everyone who wants to come here is a defensive player. We know that come August, we’re probably going to have to move some defensive linebackers and linemen to offense.’’

Gray quarterback Sean Williams had the best numbers on Friday, completing 6 of 9 passes for 45 yards with one interception.

"We learn a lot from practicing against our defense, because we know they’re the best in the CIAA,’’ Williams said. "Practicing against them, all we can do is get better, and I think we have.’’

Rising sophomore defensive end Scheldon Connor should be a key to that defense again.

"Our defensive playbook is like our Bible,’’ Connor said. "Practices are hard, and I think the offensive line has really improved a lot. They’ll be much better than last year. When they take the field, they’re expecting to score.’’

NOTES — The Eagles will open Aug. 31 against archrival N.C. A&T in the annual "Aggie-Eagle Classic," but the site is yet to be determined. … The first of NCCU’s five home games is Sept. 21 against Virginia State.