GREENSBORO — North Carolina Central held NC A&T scoreless in the second half and claimed its second-straight victory in the historic rivalry series.
Quarterback Davius Richard and running back Latrell Collier rushed for two touchdowns each, helping the Eagles pull away from the Aggies 30-16 in front of a packed crowd at Truist Stadium.
The win kept NC Central unbeaten (2-0) heading into next weekend’s cross-country trip to UCLA. A&T dropped to 0-2, with its conference opener coming next weekend against Elon.
NC A&T has a comfortable lead in the overall series between the schools, which has stretched for 101 years. But pundits favored Central coming into Saturday’s clash. The Aggies, though, hung tough for a half.
Taymon Cooke returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to trim Central’s lead to 14-9 midway through the second quarter. A 47-yard TD run by Wesley Graves then gave the Aggies a brief 16-14 edge with 2:02 to play before the break.
The Eagles didn’t stay behind for long. Adrian Olivo booted a 35-yard field goal with 27 ticks before halftime, and NC Central never trailed again. Short-yardage touchdowns from Collier and Richard after intermission sealed the victory for the Eagles.
Collier and Richard, both seniors, had identical stat lines in the rushing department. Each had 17 attempts. Each finished with 95 yards. Each found the end zone twice.
The Aggies held Central’s passing game somewhat in check. Richard finished 15-of-23 for 127 yards through the air, with no TDs or interceptions.
For the second week in a row, A&T had a tough time getting its passing attack untracked. The Aggies completed just seven passes for 51 yards. Kenji Christian was the top A&T rusher, just missing a 100-yard game by two yards.
