 "Photo: Aaron Saunders/Echo Sports Editor")
With nine returning starters, the N.C. Central University defense was expected to be the strength of the football team.
However, Saturday against top–ranked Appalachian State, the Eagle defense looked overmatched as the Mountaineers steamrolled the Eagles 44-16.
"Today we had to play catch-up football and when you have to do that it's hard to get back in the game," said Head Coach Mose Rison.
Last year the Mountaineers defeated the Eagles 55-21 behind Walter Payton-Award–winning quarterback Armanti Edwards.
"Last year we were a little shell–shocked with the atmosphere and we shocked ourselves into playing pretty good," said junior quarterback Michael Johnson.
On Saturday, the Mountaineers scored 24 straight points before the Eagles responded with a score of their own on a 92–yard kick return by sophomore return man Arthur Goforth.
"Arthur is a good football player with great speed," said Rison. "He really is a tremendous weapon. I didn't expect them to kick it to him that much."
The Eagles offense struggled to find its rhythm all day but did showcase a blend of balanced pass and run attacks totaling 330 yards on the day.
"It was hard to run the football, so we tried to hit them with quick passes," said Johnson.
Once the Mountaineers offense took over, the track meet began as junior running back Travaris Cadet bobbed and weaved through the defense for an astounding 149 yards on 8 carries and 1 touchdown.
Cadet was not the only Mountaineer to score touchdowns on the ground; senior running back Devon Moore added two touchdowns.
"They had some really good skill players," said senior defensive tackle Teryl White.
The Eagle defense gave up 328 yards rushing on the day, an improvement from last year's 407 yards against App State.
"Can't explain it, just bad tackling. We have to be able to tackle better," said Rison.
This marks the second straight game that the Eagles defense has struggled. Last week poor defense led to a Winston Salem State victory.
"Its just something you have to get reps at and we worked on it last week in practice, just not enough I guess," said White.
This Saturday the Eagles take on archrival N. C. A&T State University at O'Kelly Riddick Stadium at 6 p.m.
"I talked after the game to our guys about the magnitude of this game. This is a huge week and A&T is our biggest rival, it is important to us to go into our bye [week] 2-2," said Rison.
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