DURHAM, N.C. – Tazmon Foster scored on an 80-yard interception return, Arthur Goforth returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and North Carolina Central beat Hampton 37-20 on Thursday night to break a tie for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lead.
Foster started a 20-point scoring spree in the second quarter, and Goforth gave the Eagles (5-2, 4-0) a 10-point lead in the fourth after Hampton (1-5, 1-3) scored 17 straight points.
Foster gave the Eagles a 6-3 lead early in the second, Andre Clark added a 1-yard scoring run, and Jordan Reid threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Geovonie Irvine to make it 20-3 with 6:50 left in the half.
Oleg Parent added a 20-yard field goal early in the third, but Hampton rallied to cut it to 23-20. Jeremi Schwartz had 1 -and 38-yard scoring runs and the Pirates had a safety.
Goforth scored after Schwartz's second TD, and Central capped the scoring with Reid's 20-yard TD pass to Gary Douglas.
Reid was 11 of 22 for 193 yards without an interception, and Irvine finished with four catches for 99 yards for Central. Playing at home for the first time since the season opener, the Eagles broke a tie with Bethune-Cookman for the MEAC lead. Bethune-Cookman (3-0) will face Norfolk State at home Saturday.
Schwartz led Hampton, running for 129 yards on 20 carries and catching five passes for 29 yards.
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