Winston-Salem State Football Defeats Rival North Carolina Central 35-10 :: Senior teammates Purvis and Bines impressive in final home games of WSSU careers

Senior teammates Purvis and Bines impressive in final home games of WSSU careers

Nov. 10, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Winston-Salem State University Rams football team earned their sixth win of the 2007 season on Saturday afternoon at Bowman Gray Stadium as they handed arch-rival North Carolina Central University a 35-10 defeat in front of 9,511 fans as WSSU improved to 6-4 overall.

The win, the Rams' sixth victory in 2007, helped to propel Winston-Salem State University to the 21^st victory in the all-time series with the Eagles and gives WSSU a slight edge at 21-20 in the all-time series versus their Durham-based rival.

The Eagles drew first blood in the contest as Taylor Gray's 33 yard field goal gave North Carolina Central the first points of the contest at the 12:19 mark of the first quarter en route to an early 3-0 lead.

WSSU wasted no time in taking control of the contest only five minutes later as Jed Bines's (Winston-Salem, NC/Parkland) 10-yard touchdown run gave the Rams a 7-3 advantage that they would never relinquish as the fifth-year senior tailback helped WSSU cap an 11-play, 66 yard drive with a red zone touchdown.

Bines was not done as he recorded the 35^th rushing touchdown of his career, tying him with Broderick Graves (1987-89) for fourth place on the WSSU all-time rushing touchdown charts only three minutes into the second quarter as WSSU increased its cushion to 14-3.

Senior quarterback Monte Purvis (Winston-Salem, NC) helped to engineer another pair of scoring drives in the second quarter as he led the Rams to 54 yard and 84 yard scoring drives during the final six minutes of the half that effectively put the game out of reach for the Eagles.

On the Rams final possession of the half Purvis threw a beautiful pass that Bryant Bayne hauled in with an over-the-shoulder catch on a skinny post play for a 63-yard touchdown pass as the Rams recorded their longest passing play of the 2007 season.

The touchdown would give the Rams a 28-3 lead that was ever in jeopardy during the game's final quarter of play.

Not satisfied with the thought of being kept off of the scoresheet, Purvis struck again late in the fourth quarter of play as he capped his final home game in a WSSU uniform with a 22-yard touchdown run that gave the Rams a 35-10 lead as Purvis recorded his ninth rushing TD of the season and the 13^th rushing TD of his career as WSSU cruised to the win.

The win improves the Rams to 6-4 overall while the Eagles fall to 6-4 overall with the loss. The Rams return to action on November 17, 2007 at 1:00 pm at Dick Price Stadium in Norfolk, VA when they close out the season versus the Spartans of Norfolk State University.

For additional information on WSSU football, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Website of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com.