NC Central Loses Last-Second In Mississippi

ITTA BENNA, MS- North Carolina Central University gives up their lead in the final 19 seconds to lose 17-16 to Mississippi Valley State.

Early in this contest, NCCU looked like the team that was going to leave with a win when the final buzzer rang.

The first quarter looked like NC Central was facing a team with no wins up until this point, which they were.

Adrian Olivio got the Eagles on the board first with a line-drive kick from 20 yards out on their first offensive outing.

Davius Richard reminded everyone of the strong receiver-QB connection he has with Ryan McDaniel when they linked up for a 26-yard diving reception for a touchdown in the back of the end zone with what could be the catch of the season.

The Eagles held their own defensively as well. MVSU punted every time their offensive touched the field except once. When Orla Fernandez missed a 35-yard field goal.

The Eagles had real momentum for a second. They accumulated eight first downs to the Delta Devils’ two in the first period. The Eagles maintained possession of the ball for nearly ten minutes throughout the first.

The tide began to shift in the second. First and foremost, penalties ate the Eagles up on the offensive side of the ball.

NCCU killed their own drives by stacking up for offensive penalties. Unfortunately, this is not a new problem.

This team averages about 83 penalty yards per game. In just five games, they have received 46 penalties for a total of 415 yards.

That is more than any running back on the team has.

MSVU wisely capitalized off of the Eagles’ offensive struggles. They went on to score 10 unanswered points.

Fernandez would go on to make up the miss he had earlier in the day with a field goal from 25 yards this time.

The Eagles’ struggle became even more evident when Richard threw a pick to Volme Swanier, who returned it from 41-yards out for a touchdown.

The game progressively got sloppier from there. The Eagles rushed for a total of negative 11 yards in the third.

The highlight of the quarter was the Blocked kick by Brandon Codrington. Which was extremely necessary and clutch. That kicked would have broken the scoring drought between the two teams, but unfortunately, it was a missed opportunity for the Eagles.

Neither team scored until Richard bulled his way into the end zone with 25 seconds left in the game, but Olivo’s extra-point kick missed the mark, keeping the Eagles’ advantage at 16-10. 

 A facemask penalty against NCCU on the ensuing kickoff allowed MVSU to start its final drive at the NCCU 46-yard line with 19 seconds remaining. After an incomplete pass, Eason connected with Jacory Rankin for a 44-yard catch-and-run to the 2-yard line. The clock on the scoreboard showed no timing remaining, as the Eagles began celebrating. However, the referee added one second on the clock, allowing MVSU to tie the score and then, after a pair of NCCU timeouts, kick the extra point by Fernandez. 

The Eagles also handed MSVU 55 free yards in penalties. A big amount came from the special teams trying to stop The Devils on a return.
Just 25 seconds left in the contest, a slim six-point lead, and the Eagles get a facemask penalty.

This game Mississippi just enough to go for 2 plays for 46 yards in 19 seconds. A drive that ended with a touchdown reception by Caleb Johnston, and made an extra point by Fernandez.

A Tough loss almost seems too soft of wordage to describe this. Coach Oliver has a lot of fine toning to do so that the little things matter more to these guys. Because as of right now, they don’t.

NC Central (2-3, MEAC 0-0) faces off Tennessee Tech next Saturday in their home stadium.