NCAA Division II Playoffs:
Delta State 24, NC Central 17

November 25, 2006

by Lut Williams
BCSP Editor

DURHAM, NC -- CIAA champion and Southeast Region top-seed North Carolina Central had its chances but could not make the plays it needed in falling to Delta State, 24-17 in a second round NCAA Div. II playoff game at home Saturday afternoon.

Joe Daniels Photo

NCCU QB Stadford Brown

The Eagles, who ended their best season ever with an 11-1 mark, were plagued all day by dropped passes, six in all, and an inability to run the ball. NCCU garnered just 36 rushing yards in 21 attempts.

They also struggled to convert third-down opportunuties, making just four of 14 on the afternoon and may have been the victim of some bad decisions as four times they penetrated deep into Delta State territory but eschewed field goals by reliable placekicker Brandon Gilbert in favor of going for first downs. Two of the those fourth downs were unsuccessful.

“We were just trying to win the game,” said NCCU head coach Rod Broadway of his decisions which included one unsuccessful fourth-down try in the first quarter and another midway thru the fourth.

Between those critical plays, the Eagles battled gamely. QB Stadford Brown completed 22 of a season-high 44 passes for 255 yards and just one costly interception on the Eagles’ final possession. WR Charles Futrell had a career-high nine receptions for 131 yards but had two critical drops, including one in the back of the end zone in the first quarter. The defense surrendered a season-high 391 yards but played well enough to keep the Eagles in the game.

Delta State (11-2), which knocked off CIAA runner-up Elizabeth City State in the first round, was able to keep the Eagles out of the end zone for most of the game after giving up an early score to go down 7-0. DSU senior QB Scott Eyster, a finalist for the Harlan Hill Trophy given to the best player in Div. II football, was picked off by NCCU defensive back Tyrone Williams at the DSU 48 on his team’s first possession. Williams’ return to the DSU 9 led to a nine-yard scoring pass from Brown to Wayne Blackwell. But Eyster came back to finish 23 of 34 for 264 yards and two TDs, both in the second quarter, to lead the visitors.

Eyster connected on a seven-yard scoring toss to Jeremy Ricks to open the second quarter and a 63-yarder to Robert Davis to offset the Eagles’ early score and put the Statesmen up 14-7. DSU would add a ten-yard run by Steven Davis that capped an 11-play, 96-yard drive to lead 21-7 late in the first half. The Eagles drove for a 40-yard Brandon Gilbert field goal at the halftime horn to trail 24-10 at the break.

The Eagles got the ball to open the second half and promptly dropped two conseecutive passes, the final two of the six drops. And after a short punt, DSU cashed in again on a 26-yard Halliday field goal to lead 24-10 less than four minutes into the second half. The teams traded possessions but did not put up any more points in the period.

NCCU finally got on the board again early in the fourth quarter when Brown hit Daunte’ Fields with a 12-yard TD pass. Brown had set up the score by rambling 15 yards up the middle on a second-and-10 at the DSU 29. Gilbert’s PAT brought the Eagles within 24-17 with 10:15 to play.

After holding DSU on downs and getting the ball on his own 44, Brown led the Eagles back into the redzone. His 12-yard completion to Kenneth Broadway on fourth-and-5 at the DSU 19 got the Eagles to the 7. But his first-and-goal pass to the right side of the end zone intended for Futrell was picked off by DSU defensive back Monterio James to end the threat. DSU got the ball at its own 20 with 4:19 left and was able to run 12 plays to run out the clock.