DURHAM (AP) — Lamar Raynard threw for two touchdowns and Marquell Cartwright ran for two more as NC A&T shut out NC Central 45-0 on Saturday afternoon to claim the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.
With Florida A&M falling to Bethune-Cookman, 33-19, the Aggies earned their fourth title in the last five years and their third Air Force Celebration Bowl bid in four years.
Raynard threw 4 yards to Elijah Bell in the first quarter and Cartwright dashed 35 yards for a score to give the Aggies a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Cartwright punched in from the 1 early in the third quarter and Raynard hit Bell from 24 yards out to make it 38-0.
Raynard was 16 of 23 for 257 yards passing. Cartwright had 20 carries for 110 yards and Bell pulled in 10 passes for 122 yards.
The Aggies held Central to just 41 yards of total offense, including minus-21 yards rushing.
Charleston Southern 12, Campbell 7
BUIES CREEK – James Allen’s third interception with 1:17 remaining helped visiting Charleston Southern hold off Campbell 12-7 Saturday at Barker-Lane Stadium.
CSU improved to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in Big South play, while Campbell finished its year at 6-5 and 1-4 in its inaugural Big South season. With six wins, the Camels secured back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the program’s modern era (since 2008), and tied an overall program record for victories.
Campbell took over 6:26 to go in regulation, marching 11 plays, including a pair of third down conversions, to the CSU 14. The drive included a 34-yard hook-up from Jayson DeMild to Aaron Blockmon on third and 17 from the Campbell 48, as well as a 22-yard Zach Roderick grab on the first play of the possession.
DeMild’s fourth down pass, however, was picked off by Allen, giving the Buccaneers the ball with 1:17 on the clock. Adam Allen’s 16-yard run on third down allowed CSU to run out the clock to take the road win.
James Allen also picked off two passes in the second quarter, returning the second 52 yards for a touchdown. The pick-6 extended the Charleston Southern lead to 9-0, with a missed extra point, with 1:14 remaining in the first half.
After a missed try earlier in the second quarter, Tyler Tekac was able to convert a 24-yard field goal to give the game its first points at the 6:43 mark of the second after a blocked Campbell punt gave CSU the ball on the CU five yard line. He added a 49-yard field goal with 1:23 to go in the third to make it 12-0 Buccaneers.
Campbell quickly answered two plays from scrimmage later, with DeMild hitting Caleb Snead in stride for a 65-yard touchdown, putting the Camels on the board and cutting the score to 12-7 with 44 seconds to go in the third.
The Charleston Southern defense totaled four interceptions on the day, with Shadarius Hopkins adding a pick just before the end of the first half. The Buccaneers also posted 13 tackles for loss in the win, including 3.0 from Solomon Brown. Edward King added 2.5 TFLs and nine total stops, while J.D. Sosebee tallied 11 stops with 2.0 tackles for loss.
