N.C. Central holds on to defeat N. Carolina A&T

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tim Shankle scored two rushing touchdowns and North Carolina Central held off North Carolina A&T in a 28-27 victory on Saturday night.

The Eagles (1-4) jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the second quarter, which included scoring runs of 25 and 5 yards by Tim Shankle, who finished with 55 yards on the ground. Stradford Brown threw a 4-yard touchdown to DeMarcus Hill in the first quarter for North Carolina Central.

Nick Clement caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Lee Woodson for the Aggies (2-4) to cut the lead to 21-13 in the third quarter. The Eagles pushed their lead to 15 points in the third when Alex Winters returned a fumble 38 yards for a score.

North Carolina A&T trimmed the lead to 28-27 after Nigel Tomlin scored on a 21-yard run in third and rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 9:56 left in the game. But North Carolina Central held the Aggies scoreless the rest of the way.

Tomlin led North Carolina A&T with 110 yards rushing on 13 carries, while Carlton Fears had 82 yards on the ground on 14 attempts. Fears also finished with 50 yards passing.