BY JOE JOHNSON

jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667

DURHAM -- Rivalry or not, N.C. Central is not looking beyond today's game against Winston-Salem State.

NCCU coach Mose Rison said he has been reinforcing the basics once again as his team readies for its final road game. The Eagles, who have struggled to come up with a win away from O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium, would take a step forward if they can win at WSSU, according to Rison.

"We've shown we can play with people [on the road]," Rison said. "Now we have to win one. We've got a lot of young players, and a win would give us a lot to build on."

NCCU hasn't been that far from getting a road win in its previous six attempts. The games at Hampton and North Carolina A T went down to the last two minutes. Against Liberty, Duke and Appalachian State, the Eagles played well in the first half before fading.

A week ago, NCCU started slowly, then roared back to tie the game before losing in the fourth quarter to Old Dominion.

"We could have easily tanked it against Old Dominion, but we didn't," Rison said. "We just have to pick up the pieces and get ready for Winston-Salem State,"

Winston-Salem State (1-8) has had its struggles this season, too. In their most recent game, the Rams turned the ball over in five of their first seven possessions but almost rallied against Delaware State before losing 24-21.

"I know they're 1-8, but they were down against Delaware State but they found a way to stay in that game," Rison said. "It's a rivalry game and anything can happen."

The all-time series between the teams is knotted at 21-21. Winston-Salem State broke a three-game losing streak to the Eagles with a 35-10 victory in 2007, though.

Most of the recent games against the Rams have been close. A year ago, NCCU held on by a touchdown after the Rams committed four turnovers and had a special teams miscue.

In 2004, the Eagles scored on the final play of the game to win 35-33. The following season, NCCU scored with 1:38 left in the game to win.

"It's going to be a battle," Rison said.

NCCU defensive tackle Teryl White said he does not want a repeat of his first-half performance against Old Dominion. He said the Eagles need to get off to a good start to salvage what is left of their season.

"I played the worst half of the season," White said. "This week, I'm going to let my play show how good we are. We've shown we can play lights out on defense in stretches. We need to be able to do that for a whole game."

White, who has faced constant double-team blocking since the Appalachian State game, still leads the Eagles with 46 tackles, including a pair of sacks. He also has shown awesome academic performance this season and recently was named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Football team.

"That's a great honor," White said. "You see a lot of those players on TV. I'm so glad people are aware of players at smaller schools."

White, a junior, said he foresees law school after his playing days are over with the Eagles.