jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
DURHAM -- The importance of Saturday's game at Winston-Salem State has not been lost even as N.C. Central tries to bounce back from a 42-28 loss at Old Dominion on Saturday.
Eagles coach Mose Rison called the first half of that game the worst his team has played this season, but he added that he like the way his team played in the second half against the Monarchs.
"We really couldn't get anything going in the first half defensively," Rison said. "I had a few kind words to say at halftime and got my point across. We came out and played very inspired football in the second half."
Rison said he could find nothing to pin the inconsistent play on other than youth. The defense only has one senior in the starting lineup and two as reserves.
"We have young players, and that gives us a lot to build on," Rison said.
One aspect of the game that pleased Rison was the way his team battled back from a 28-point deficit to tie the game.
"Momentum swung in our favor when we got it to 28-28," Rison said. "The good news is that we fought back. I was glad we came back. We did not quit."
But as soon as the Eagles grabbed the momentum, they let it slip away, which confounded Rison. He said kickoff coverage had been a sore point this season and allowed Old Dominion to stave off his team, as the Monarchs took advantage of a long kick return to right themselves.
Rison said the Eagles are going to work harder on kick coverage again.
A pep talk probably won't be necessary this week, though. Next to North Carolina A&T, Winston-Salem State is the next biggest rivalry for the Eagles.
"It's going to be a really tough game because it's a rivalry game," Rison said. "We've had a long history with them."
Junior defensive tackle Teryl White knows a little bit about the rivalry being from Winston-Salem. Even though he only moved there while in high school, White said he heard about the rivalry quite a bit.
"Other than A&T, they are our biggest rival," White said. "This game means a lot. We need to win it so we can stay on track to match last season."
The Eagles, who lost their first six games, set of goal of winning their final five to end the season. They got two before faltering against Old Dominion. NCCU needs to win its final two games to match the 2008 win total.
"I hope we can get the win this week so we don't let the seniors down," White said. "We want to send them out with at least as many wins as we had last season."
The Eagles will be without junior tight end Earthan Ward, who was knocked out of the Old Dominion game with a concussion. Rison said Ward's condition has improved greatly since Saturday, but because he will not be able to participate in practice this week, he will not be able to play against Winston-Salem State.
Ward was taken off the field after a helmet-to-helmet hit with an ODU defender and was sent to a Norfolk hospital for a medical check. He was released and was able to travel with the team, though.
"Luckily, it was not as serious as they first thought," Rison said. "We took every precaution with him."
