WESTERN KENTUCKY SCORES ON EVERY POSSESSION IN WIN OVER NCCU
Kyle Serba
10/27/07

BOWLING GREEN, KY – Western Kentucky University scored on every possession during a 50-14 victory over North Carolina Central University inside L.T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Ky.

Western Kentucky, in its first year as an NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision program (formerly I-A), improved to 5-3, while NCCU, in its first year of transition into the Division I-Footbll Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA), fell to 6-3.

The visiting Eagles suffered their biggest loss since a 47-0 defeat at Winston-Salem State University on Oct. 25, 2003, while the NCCU defense surrendered the most points since a 60-25 loss against Livingstone College on Oct. 28, 1995.

WKU amassed 538 yards of total offense, including 373 yards rushing, for an average of 7.8 yards per play and 7.2 yards per rush.

NCCU recorded 333 total yards, including a season-high 162 yards on the ground. NCCU rookie running back Tim Shankle rushed for a season-high 127 yards on 20 carries, while senior tight end Christopher Edwards collected season-highs of five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown.

On the game’s second play from scrimmage, NCCU quarterback Stadford Brown’s pass was intercepted by junior linebacker Ben Sowders, who returned the pick 10 yards to the NCCU 20-yard line. Four plays later, sophomore running back Tyrell Hayden scored from three yards out and senior kicker Chris James added the extra-point to put the Hilltoppers on top 7-0 just 1:53 into the contest.

NCCU responded with a 12-play, 69-yard drive to even the score at 7-7 with 8:03 on the first quarter clock. A determined 17-yard run by Shankle put the Eagles on the WKU 1-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Brown, his first rushing score of the season.

On WKU’s first play, junior quarterback David Wolke tossed a 42-yard pass to Curtis Hamilton to the Eagles’ 25-yard line. That set up a 14-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Wolke to freshman receiver Wenquel Graves. James missed only his second extra-point kick in 134 career attempts to keep the score at 13-7 in favor of the host Hilltoppers.

NCCU’s strong offensive line play led to 83 ground yards in the first 10 minutes of action, leading WKU to call a timeout. However, coming out of the timeout, Brown attempted a pump-and-go pass down the sideline that was intercepted by senior safety Bo Smith, who returned the ball to the Toppers’ 20-yard line.

Smith’s interception led to a 12-play, 54-yard drive that was capped by a 43-yard field goal by James at 14:51 of the second quarter, giving WKU a 16-7 advantage.

Once again, the Eagles offense responded. This time, NCCU engineered a 13-play, 85-yard drive that consumed 7:59 on the second quarter clock and ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Edwards on a third-down and seven yards-to-go play at 6:46.

The offensive explosion continued moments later with a 50-yard touchdown run by WKU’s Hayden to push the Toppers lead to 23-14 with 5:00 left before intermission.

After the Hilltoppers forced the first punt of the game, WKU drove 84 yards on seven plays and James booted a 28-yard field goal to close out the first half with a 26-14 lead. The Hilltoppers caught a break on the play before the kick when NCCU sophomore defensive back Derek Harvey appeared to strip the ball from a Hilltoppers ball carrier and the fumble was recovered by the Eagles. However, the officials ruled that WKU’s forward progress was stopped and the ball remained with the Toppers, allowing the last-second field goal.

The teams combined for 29 first downs (15 WKU, 14 NCCU) and 499 total yards (280 WKU, 219 NCCU) in the first half. The visiting Eagles posted 122 rushing yards on 25 carries, while the Toppers amassed 148 ground yards on 17 rushes. NCCU’s potent ground attack was sparked by Shankle’s 93 yards on 14 first-half carries.

The Hilltoppers took the opening drive of the second half 67 yards on 10 plays, ending with a 6-yard touchdown scamper by WKU quarterback Wolke to build his team’s lead to 33-14 at 11:25 of the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, NCCU pushed the pigskin to the Hilltoppers’ 25-yard line, but rookie kicker Taylor Gray had a 42-yard field goal attempt blocked and the home team took over at its own 44-yard line.

WKU extended its cushion to 40-14 courtesy of a 14-yard run by junior running back Stephen Willis at 2:49 of the third quarter, ending an eight-play, 56-yard drive.

The Hilltoppers used a 10-play, 82-yard drive to increase the advantage to 47-14 with 10:15 to go after a 1-yard touchdown dive by sophomore running back Marell Booker.

WKU put the finishing touches on the victory with a 36-yard field goal by James with 1:48 left.