Backup quarterback Lee McNeill scored a touchdown at the end of a nine play 51-yard drive to narrow the Eagles victory over the 49ers to 40-13. Photo by Chris Crews.
The Charlotte 49ers (2-1) were handed a rude awakening in a 40-13 loss to the N.C. Central Eagles (2-1) on Saturday afternoon at Jerry Richardson Stadium. Charlotte was unimpressive on both sides of the ball and on special teams as they committed seven turnovers on the day and missed numerous tackles on defense.
After both teams got off to a less than impressive start offensively to begin the game, NCCU finally opened up the scoring on a 39-yard field goal by kicker Oleg Parent to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter. This is the first time a young Charlotte team has faced adversity all season as they had not found themselves trailing at any point during their first two contests.
The 49ers looked to be responding nicely as they drove down the field effortlessly before three straight incompletions by Matt Johnson inside the redzone forcing a Blake Brewer field goal attempt. Brewer’s 37-yard attempt that would have tied the game at 3-3 was blocked by the Eagles, apparently thwarting any hope Charlotte had at building momentum.
The 49ers caught a break on the very next play as NCCU botched a handoff at their own 21-yard line and Charlotte linebacker Terry Caldwell pounced on the ball to regain possession.
After a holding penalty on the first play for Charlotte, the 49ers fumbled a handoff of their own which was recovered by Demontray Ryland and returned 50 yards to the Charlotte 22-yard line.
The 49ers defense made an impressive goal-line stand to hold the Eagles to yet another Parent field goal which stretched the lead to 6-0 in the closing minutes of the opening quarter.
The sloppy play from both teams continued in the second quarter as the Eagles fumbled once and had a field goal blocked, and Johnson threw his first two interceptions of the season on consecutive Charlotte drives.
NCCU was able to score the games first touchdown on a 4-yard run by backup running back Deyonta Wright following Johnson’s second interception of the quarter. This touchdown gave the Eagles a 13-0 lead heading into the locker room after one half of play.
NCCU provided the dagger on the opening kickoff of the second half as return man Adrian Wilkins took the kick 100 yards to give the Eagles a commanding 20-0 lead.
Johnson threw his third interception of the day with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter and NCCU defensive back Tony Williams returned it 48 yards for another Eagles touchdown. Charlotte blocked the ensuing extra point to keep their deficit at 26-0 midway through the third quarter.
The 49ers attempted to claw their way back into the contest but failed to convert a fourth and six at the Eagles 15-yard line resulting in a turnover on downs.
NCCU immediately marched 85 yards on just eight plays on a drive that culminated with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Idreis Augustus to give the Eagles a 33-0 lead late in the third quarter.
Charlotte was finally able to put some points on the board with 8:20 remaining in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Alan Barnwell. Charlotte trailed 33-6 after Brewer missed the extra point wide left.
NCCU was able to tack on one more insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter following the fifth Johnson interception of the game. The touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Augustus giving the Eagles a 40-6 lead with 4:35 remaining in the game.
“They were definitely running something different than the previous two teams were running,” said Johnson after his five-interception day.
“I felt like the offense was running very well but we just had a few missed assignments.”
The 49ers put in backup quarterback Lee McNeill late in the fourth quarter and he successfully lead the offense on a nine play, 51- yard drive that he capped off with a 10-yard scramble for a touchdown to finish the scoring for the day at 40-13.
“First and foremost you’ve got to give Central a lot of credit.” said Charlotte coach Brad Lambert. “We flipped the script from what we’ve been doing and made too many mistakes. Those plays just kind of break your back.”
The 49ers will hit the road for the first time this season when they take on the James Madison Dukes on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Bridgeforth Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. eastern time. The Dukes are currently ranked 17th in the NCAA FCS rankings.