By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- All of Durham -- Duke and N.C. Central fans alike -- had reasons to celebrate leading up to Saturday's historic first football meeting between the neighbors and reasons to cheer during the game.

Duke fans, however, were the ones with cause for celebration after the game.

The Blue Devils ripped off three touchdowns in less than a quarter before NCCU enjoyed a couple of moments in the sun on a rainy night at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke bounced back quickly and decisively, putting away the Eagles 49-14 before 26,390 soaked but spirited fans.

"I thought it was a good thing for Durham; I just hate the weather wasn't any better than it was," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "It turned out as good as it was supposed to turn out, with all the kids enjoying playing and playing hard."

Duke quarterback Thad Lewis looked more like his old self after a shaky start to the season, hitting on 17 of 25 passes for 189 yards with two touchdown passes and a touchdown run.

"I felt like myself -- no swine flu, no ankle [problem]," Lewis said. "I was just able to go out there and play today."

Lewis got plenty of help from the running game. Former Hillside running back Desmond Scott looked like a new weapon, rushing for 100 yards on 16 carries in his college debut.

Scott and Patrick Kurunwune (93 yards) got nearly all the playing time in the backfield with starter Re'quan Boyette out and second-stringer Jay Hollingsworth rarely used, and both wasted little time setting the tone.

They helped Duke (2-2), which had totaled 183 yards on the ground through three games, rush for 233 yards on Saturday.

"Coach Cut always tells us to be ready," Kurunwune said. "Whatever string you are, you've got to be ready. Des stepped up. It was great for a true freshman to step up the way he did.

"We're just glad that we're real deep at running back."

Kurunwune and Scott scored on nifty runs on Duke's first two possessions, and then Lewis hooked up with Donovan Varner for an 18-yard score on Duke's next drive -- the first of two TD catches for Varner -- for a 21-0 lead.

The Eagles (0-4), facing a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent for the first time in school history, didn't accept their fate easily. Duke's lead quickly shriveled and stood at just 21-14 heading to the final minute of the first half.

NCCU totaled 14 yards on its first seven snaps but changed that in a hurry, when former Hillside quarterback Michael Johnson heaved one deep down the middle to former Hillside teammate Geovonie Irvine for 55 yards, putting the Eagles in position to score on a 1-yard run from Tim Shankle.

Duke went right back to business, but when Lewis hurt his ankle on a run, Sean Renfree came in and promptly threw an interception that Jeffery Henderson picked off and sprinted 83 yards down the right sideline with to bring NCCU within 21-14.

"I thought early on we were sluggish," NCCU coach Mose Rison said. "Once we got our feet under us and started to understand what they were doing, we were able to make some things happen on offense.

"I thought we had them off-balance for a while and got the game much closer."

Lewis, however, returned after sitting out one possession and quickly returned to form, orchestrating a 13-play, 80-yard march to end the half, capped by a 14-yard TD pass on which Varner did most of the work with some shifty moves to make it 28-14 at the break.

The second half started much like the first, with Duke again scoring on its first three drives. Lewis capped the first one with a 5-yard scrambling score, and the special teams took care of the next one, with Matt Daniels stripping Phillip Barren on a punt return and Vincent Rey scooping it up for his school-record third fumble return for a touchdown, this one from 16 yards.

The final touchdown came on the first play of the fourth quarter and came as Lewis watched. Renfree got back to how he had played the previous two weeks, hooking up with tight end Brett Huffman for a 3-yard touchdown.

Duke true freshman John Drew, the brother of NCCU linebacker Chris Drew, got his first career start and tied for team tackles honors with six and for tackle-for-loss honors with 1.5.