WILBERFORCE, Ohio – Central State racked up 223 offensive yards and 21 points in the opening quarter, including touchdown passes of 70 and 55 yards, to key a 44-38 victory over the UNC Pembroke football team on Saturday afternoon at McPherson Stadium.
 
It was the third-straight loss for the Braves (1-4) who surrendered nearly 500 yards of offense for the second-straight week. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Marauders (3-4) who were celebrating Homecoming on their campus which is located 20 miles outside of Dayton in western Ohio.
 

THE BASICS

SCORE: Central State 44, UNC Pembroke 38 RECORDS: Central State 3-4; UNC Pembroke 1-4 LOCATION: Wilberforce, Ohio (McPherson Stadium)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST QUARTER

Central State got the scoring started in a hurry as Trent Mays hooked up with Kevin Greenhow on a 70-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage. CSU 7, UNCP 0   The Braves answered the quick score by the Marauders by putting together a 10-play drive all the way down to the Central State 10-yard line before settling for a 27-yard field goal from Alex Alvarado. CSU 7, UNCP 3   The Marauders tacked up another touchdown on the following possession. Terraris Saffold capped a 9-play, 79-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown plunge that gave the hosts a two-possession lead midway through the first period. CSU 14, UNCP 3   UNCP kept pace with the Marauders, driving 25 yards on five plays before Joshua Dale found Tyshawn Carter on a 37-yard touchdown pass. CSU 14, UNCP 10   Central State needed just one play on the ensuing drive to light up the scoreboard again as Trent Mays found Jerrell Allen on a 55-yard touchdown pass that used just nine seconds on the first-quarter clock. CSU 21, UNCP 10

2ND QUARTER

A bad snap on a Central State punt attempt set the visitors up in great field position and Josh Sheridan ran three times for 24 yards to set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Josh Jones to Jalon Nixon. CSU 21, UNCP 17   After trading punts on the next two possessions, Central State picked the scoring back up again, capping a short 6-play, 29-yard scoring drive on Terraris Saffold's 2-yard touchdown dive that made it a two-possession game again. CSU 28, UNCP 17   Josh Jones engineered a 5-play, 56-yard scoring drive that used just 54 seconds off of the second quarter clock and found Corey West on a 10-yard touchdown pass right before the half. CSU 28, UNCP 24   Having just 38 seconds to work with after the preceding score, Central State drove 45 yards in six plays before using a career-long 37-yard field goal by Trevor Teel to take the lead into the locker rooms. CSU 31, UNCP 24

3RD QUARTER

UNCP got good field position after a 3-and-out by the Marauders and let Josh Sheridan do the work on the last 15 yards of the scoring drive, including a 6-yard touchdown run. CSU 31, UNCP 31   The Marauders answered on the ensuing possession, driving 50 yards on eight plays before Trent Mays scampered 17 yards down the near sideline to give the hosts the lead again. The extra point from Trevor Teel sailed wide right. CSU 37, UNCP 31   The Braves put together an 11-play, 67-yard scoring drive to take its first lead of the game. McKinley Nelson rushed three times for 23 yards on the touchdown drive, including a 5-yard dive on 1st-and-Goal. UNCP 38, CSU 37

4TH QUARTER

Central State came away with no points on its opening possession of the fourth quarter, but took the lead for good on its next possession. Trent Mays passed for 32 yards on the drive, and the Marauders used a crucial pass interference penalty by the Braves to set up a 7-yard scoring jaunt by Terraris Saffold that capped the scoring on the day. CSU 44, UNCP 38

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Junior Josh Sheridan racked up more than 100 yards of total offense on the day, including 67 rushing yards on 15 carries. He also scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. + Corey West, who finished the day with a game-best eight catches for 48 yards, cashed in on his first collegiate touchdown in the second quarter - a 10-yard pass from Josh Jones that pulled the visitors to within four late in the half. + Freshman Josh Jones threw for 250 yards and a pair of scores on 27-of-36 passing with one interception. He also ran for 24 yards (6 attempts). +  Isaac Parks continued his phenomenal season on special teams, averaging 43.0 yards on three kicks. That included two punts that pinned the Marauders inside their own 20-yard line. + Jordan Howard led the UNCP stop troops with 10 tackles on the day, including an assist on a tackle for loss. Bryan McAllister and Nathan London teamed up to record UNCP's lone sack of the day. + UNCP compiled 386 yards of offense on the day and was a respectable 5-for-11 on 3rd down conversion attempts.

NOTABLES

+ Saturday's setback smudged a perfect 2-0 record that the Braves had against teams from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) heading into the weekend. UNCP's previous experience with SIAC teams came with victories over Lane during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. + The result also marked the seventh-straight loss for the Black & Gold away from Pembroke. UNCP's last road victory was a 66-14 rout of Elizabeth City State on September 9 of last season.

UP NEXT

The Braves will cap Homecoming Week on campus by taking on Concord (1-5) out of the Mountain East Conference on October 20 at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. Kickoff has been scheduled for 4 p.m.

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JOIN THE BRAVES CLUB

Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Football program by joining the Braves Club. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu.