PEMBROKE — Coming off its first loss of the season, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke football team will look to rebound, and head coach Shane Richardson feels his team is up to the task.
UNCP (3-1) kicks off with No. 18 Tuskegee University Saturday at Grace P. Johnson Stadium at 2 p.m., looking to use the momentum from the second half in its last game to do so.
After going into the halftime locker room last week down 34-0 to North Greenville University, Richardson and his staff tried to start up the team. His team responded by outscoring North Greenville 17-6 in the final half.
“We came out in the second half and played like we should have in the first half. We’re going to take those lessons, come out and step up to the challenge this week,” Richardson said. “One of our biggest challenges is we didn’t come out with the competitive spirit like we should have had.”
The Crusaders racked up 404 yards of total offense in the first half, while the Braves failed to match the intensity.
“I think when you go against good teams that are extremely sound and more aggressive than you anticipate, your mistakes are shown so much more,” Richardson said.”You have to be very precise in what you do when you play against good teams.”
That attention to detail is something Richardson believes will get the Braves’ running game back on track after totaling 42 yards on the ground last week. Junior running back Rontonio Stanley accounted for half of that yardage on five yards.
Patrick O’Brien threw two picks in the contest, each ended UNCP drives in North Greenville territory.
Tuskegee come to Pembroke undefeated, averaging three times as many points per game as their opponents. Last week, the Golden Tigers defeated Winston-Salem State 28-13, dominating the game with 368 yard of total offense 22 first downs.
Senior Jewell Ratliff paced the defense with 15 tackles, including a sack and a pair of tackles for losses. Michael Robinson added nine tackles, Jason Ashley and Osband Thompson each added eight, and safety Jonah McCutcheon picked up an interception in the victory for the stingy Tuskegee defense.
The Golden Tigers have eight interceptions so far this season.
“They’re very sound in what they do on both sides of the ball,” Richardson said.”I think they’ve got confidence in what they’re doing.
“They will not be a team that our team will look past, and our guys knows it’s going to be a challenge this weekend. And you want it that way to be able to step up against a good opponent and prove what you can do and how you can rebound.”
Dual-threat quarterback Kevin Lacey lead the Tigers in passing and rushing with 641 yards through the air and 166 yards rushing.
