NC Central Shuts Out Howard 34-0 as Joshua Jones Throws for Two Scores and Runs for Another

A week ago, Howard's defense won a game by itself in overtime. On Saturday in Durham, North Carolina Central's defense made sure the Bison never got close enough to need a miracle.

NC Central shut out Howard 34-0 at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Oct. 31, holding the Bison to four first downs and 114 total yards in a game that was never as close as the halftime score suggested. The Eagles intercepted Isaiah Freeman twice, sacked Howard quarterbacks three times and got touchdowns from two different quarterbacks. Joshua Jones, who came off the bench, threw an 88-yard strike to Mehki Wall that broke the game open in the third quarter and accounted for three touchdowns in all.

NCCU improved to 4-5 and 2-0 in the MEAC, winning its second straight conference game. Howard fell to 4-5 and 1-1.

Field position and frustration

For most of the first half, this looked like a grind. NCCU started with Cobey Thompkins at quarterback, and the Eagles' first two possessions ended in punts. Howard's best early chance disappeared on its first drive, when Amari Sifford intercepted Freeman at the NCCU 28. It was Sifford's fourth interception of the season, after the freshman defensive back picked off two passes a week earlier at Delaware State.

NCCU finally broke through on a 13-play, 63-yard drive that bridged the first and second quarters. Gino Addison ripped off a 23-yard run to get the Eagles into Howard territory, and freshman kicker Riley Daniels made a 21-yard field goal with 14:18 left in the half. It was 3-0.

Howard had its best drive of the day right after that. Billy Roberson II broke a 31-yard run, and the Bison pushed all the way to the NCCU 28 on a 12-play march. Then, on fourth-and-5, Freeman's pass was broken up. That was as close as Howard would get to the end zone all afternoon.

Two minutes that changed the half

The game turned late in the second quarter. NCCU, now with Nelson Layne at quarterback, faced fourth-and-4 at the Howard 29 and went for it. Layne found Addison for 25 yards down to the Howard 4. The Eagles still had to settle for a 29-yard Daniels field goal with 2:53 left, but the message was clear: NCCU was going to play this one aggressively.

Howard's next possession lasted three plays. Freeman threw into coverage, and Camereon Cartlidge intercepted at the NCCU 30 and returned it 42 yards to the Howard 28. Three plays later, Layne hit Tyree Saunders for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:53 left in the half. The catch was reviewed and upheld, Daniels added the extra point and NCCU led 13-0.

Howard nearly gave it right back. On the following drive, TrayVaughn Swanigan sacked Freeman for an 11-yard loss and knocked the ball loose. Howard fell on it at its own 8, which saved the half but did nothing for an offense that had already spent the afternoon going backward.

The turning point: 88 yards in one throw

Halftime did not fix anything for Howard. The Bison punted on their first two possessions of the third quarter, with Terrell Russell Jr. getting snaps in place of Freeman for part of the period, and NCCU took over at its own 7 with 10:18 left in the quarter.

Two plays later, the game was over in every practical sense. Joshua Jones, the third NCCU quarterback to take snaps on the day, found Wall behind the defense for an 88-yard touchdown. Daniels' extra point made it 20-0, and against an offense that had not crossed midfield in the second half, that was more than enough.

The Eagles added one more early in the fourth quarter after Howard turned it over on downs at its own 40, with Freeman stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1. Jones hit Wall for 37 yards to set up first-and-goal at the 3, then found RJ Lancaster for a 3-yard touchdown with 11:59 left. It was 27-0.

Jones saved the best for last. After a Howard punt, Zion Dobson broke off runs of 10 and 24 yards to get the Eagles into Bison territory, and Jones took a snap up the middle and ran 22 yards for a touchdown with 5:52 remaining. Daniels' fourth extra point made it 34-0, and the only remaining question was whether Howard would avoid the shutout. It did not.

The defense, and a few other stars

This was a team effort on defense, and the numbers were ugly for Howard. Jayden Walker led NCCU with nine tackles, Khareem Thompson had seven with half a sack, and Cartlidge added six tackles to go with his interception. Swanigan finished with two of the Eagles' three sacks. Howard's two quarterbacks combined to complete 12 of 29 passes for 44 yards, and the Bison never had a drive that carried inside the NCCU 28. The Bison punted 10 times. Matt Conord averaged 45.3 yards on eight of those punts, including a 57-yarder in the fourth quarter, and kept the field position from getting even worse.

On offense, NCCU spread the wealth. Wall was the big-play threat with four catches for 145 yards and the 88-yard touchdown, plus a 13-yard run. Addison, the freshman who ran for 214 yards at Delaware State, had 17 carries for 80 yards and two catches for 23 more. Daniels made both of his field-goal tries and all four extra points.

For Howard, Freeman finished 10 of 24 for 39 yards with two interceptions and ran 12 times for 20 yards. Roberson, who caught the tying touchdown in last week's overtime win over Morgan State, ran for 42 yards on seven carries, the best rushing day on the team, and caught two passes for 5 yards. It was a hard comedown for an offense that had found life late in Baltimore a week ago.

The stats that matter

NCCU outgained Howard 472 to 114. The Eagles threw for 277 yards and ran for 195 on 40 carries, while the Bison managed 44 passing yards and 70 rushing yards on 26 attempts. Howard converted only two third downs all day and came up empty on both of its fourth-down tries. Jones was the most efficient passer on the field, completing 9 of 12 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, and the three NCCU quarterbacks combined to go 19 of 31 for 277 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Tristan Stitt added two catches for 36 yards, and Saunders, Lancaster and Wall each caught a touchdown pass. The full numbers are in the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab).

The most important number might be zero, and not just on the scoreboard. NCCU did not commit a turnover. Howard committed two, and Cartlidge's 42-yard return set up the touchdown that put NCCU in control before halftime. In a game where both offenses spent long stretches punting, that was the difference between a tight conference game and a blowout.

What it means

For NC Central, the turnaround is real. The Eagles lost four straight games in September and October, including losses to Campbell and William & Mary, and none of those count in the conference standings. Now they are 2-0 in the MEAC with back-to-back wins, and head coach Trei Oliver's team has the inside track on the league race heading into November. NCCU's next step is a trip to Norfolk State on Nov. 7, followed by South Carolina State on Nov. 14 and a home finale against Morgan State on Nov. 21.

For Howard, the 26-20 overtime win at Morgan State felt like a season changer a week ago. Saturday was a reminder that this offense, under a first-year head coach and with its quarterback situation still unsettled, has a long way to go. Next up for the Bison is a home game against South Carolina State on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The last word

Howard spent last weekend proving it could come back from anything. It never got the chance in Durham, because NCCU never let the Bison into the game.

The Eagles did not need a perfect offense. They needed a few big throws, a kicker who does not miss and a defense that treats every Howard possession like a personal insult. They got all three, and the MEAC race now runs through Durham.

Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play, NC Central Athletics and Undrafted's previous coverage of NC Central and Howard. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Doug Burt/NC Central Athletics (file photo).