Braves Add 11th Game To 2011 Football Schedule
PEMBROKE – Athletic department officials at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke announced Friday morning that the Braves and Charleston (W.Va.) have signed a contract to play each other in a home-and-home football agreement beginning in the 2011 season.
The Black and Gold will travel to Charleston, W.Va., to face the Golden Eagles on Oct. 15, 2011, a previously scheduled open date for UNCP, with Charleston returning the trip during the 2012 campaign. The move gives the Braves a full slate of 11 games next season – the first time that has been accomplished since the inaugural season of intercollegiate football in 2007.
The Golden Eagles, led by rookie quarterback Maurice Leak, churned out a 6-5 record last season en route to a fifth place finish in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC). The Golden Eagles were sparked by the country's 10th-best rushing attack (231.09 rushing yards/game), as well as the nation's 19th-best rushing defense (108.2 rushing yards allowed/game). Charleston will return all four heads of its vaunted running game in 2011, including Leak who rushed for 59.4 yards per game, while also throwing for more than 1,000 yards on 52-of-104 passing.
UNCP will open up its fifth season of intercollegiate football on September 3 when the Braves make the short trek to Fayetteville to battle Fayetteville State in the third installment of the Two Rivers Classic at Luther "Nick" Jeralds Stadium. Kick off has been set for 6 p.m.
