NC Central strikes 3 times late in first quarter, then holds on to beat NC A&T 27-16

NC Central holds on for 27-16 win over NC A&T

DURHAM, N.C. — Michael Johnson passed for one score and ran for another as North Carolina Central scored three touchdowns in a 3:48 span and held on to beat mistake-prone North Carolina A&T 27-16 on Saturday night.

The Eagles (2-2, 1-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) scored first on a 17-yard run by Tim Shankle, who surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards, with 4:08 left in the first quarter.

The first of five Aggies fumbles set up Johnson’s 13-yard pass to Decona Roberts 1:33 later. Another fumble led to Johnson’s 1-yard scoring run with 22 seconds to go in the quarter.

The Aggies (0-4, 0-3) closed to 24-16 on Ricky Lewis’ 11-yard run with 48 seconds left in the half, but their 20-yard personal foul set up Frankie Cardelle’s 41-yard field goal 40 seconds later.

The teams played for the first time in Durham since Sept. 5, 1992, before a school record crowd of 15,173.