Charlotte football wins AAC opener: 3 takeaways from 49ers’ thrilling victory at Rice

Charlotte football won its conference opener in dramatic fashion.

The 49ers rallied late to post a 21-20 victory to kick off American Athletic Conference play against Rice University on Saturday night in Houston.

Quarterback Deshawn Purdie, the 18-year-old true freshman from Baltimore, entered behind center for Charlotte to start the second half. The Niners had been shut out by the Owls throughout the first 30 minutes, and their offense flipped a switch when Purdie took over.

Purdie led a couple of quick scoring drives on touchdown receptions by receiver O’Mega Blake. Another long gain to Blake, the transfer from South Carolina, during the game’s final minutes set up a Hahsaun Wilson touchdown rush that gave Charlotte the lead for good.

Rice had one last shot at scoring on its final possession — and ended Saturday evening’s contest with a missed 40-yard field goal attempt.

“It’s a great feeling,” Purdie said. “It’s the start of a new beginning here at Charlotte football. Just seeing all the guys celebrating: That’s what we need. It’s a great feeling.

“We all came together at the right moment. Shout-out to the O-line — straining the whole game, punching it in — and shout-out to the receivers.”

Charlotte (2-3, 1-0 American) returns home next week to host East Carolina in its second AAC game, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday inside Jerry Richardson Stadium.

Here are three takeaways from the Charlotte 49ers’ game at Rice:

Purdie entered in the second half and excelled

Purdie completed five of his first seven passes, including a pair of quick third-quarter touchdowns, and put Charlotte back on top.

Trexler Ivey had started at quarterback for the second straight game. Ivey, the redshirt junior who played at Wakefield High School in Raleigh, completed 8 of 21 passes for 51 yards before being replaced by Purdie at the start of the second half.

Purdie led a five-play touchdown drive on the Niners’ first possession of the third quarter, capped by a 32-yard strike to Blake, before that duo connected again shortly thereafter.

He connected with Blake again on a 66-yard bomb with under two minutes to go in regulation, which led to the Niners’ final touchdown.

“(Purdie)‘s still not 100% physically, in his lower body,” Charlotte head coach Biff Poggi said. “We just felt we left some plays on the field on offense — quite a few of them, actually — in the first half. And what Rice did, which was very smart by them, is they were sitting on all of our routes and locking the box for the run because they didn’t respect that we could throw it over their heads.

“We had guys who could run by, but they didn’t think we could get it there. To loosen them up, we thought we would bring Purdie in and let him see if he could hit our receivers over the top. And he did a great job.”

Charlotte’s run game struggled early

Cartevious Norton, a Georgia native who transferred from Iowa State, was Charlotte’s leading rusher for the third straight week. He finished with 56 yards on 10 attempts.

Terron Kellman, who boasted the team’s second-most rushing yards last season, returned after sustaining an injury earlier in the year. He totaled 28 yards in his first game since Week 2 at North Carolina.

Charlotte, which pounded the rock and kept last week’s game close in its early goings, moved the chains just five times throughout the first half. It finished with 67 rush yards — part of 304 total offensive yards, compared to 463 from Rice.

A week after the Niners rushed for a season-best 137 yards at Indiana, they had just 12 yards on the ground during the first half on Saturday. Wilson and Norton had just eight yards apiece.

Ultimately, it was Wilson — a Florence, S.C., native — who took a handoff from Purdie across the goal line during the final minute of regulation that lifted Charlotte to its 21-20 lead.

O’Mega Blake had a breakout performance

The Rock Hill, S.C., native and South Pointe High School graduate had his first multi-touchdown game as a Niner.

Blake, the redshirt junior who transferred from South Carolina, finished with 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

After catching Charlotte’s first touchdown, Blake hauled in a touchdown grab on a 45-yard pass from Purdie during the third quarter. That scoring play lifted Charlotte to a 14-10 advantage after it had been shut out throughout the first half.

His biggest one came inside of two minutes to go in regulation. Blake snagged a 66-yard reception, bobbling the ball and securing the catch through traffic, which led to Wilson’s game-winning touchdown.

“He’s a very talented kid,” Poggi said. “He’s very quiet — He’s kind of country. He’s from South Carolina, and he lives out alone with his family, and they’re rural. He’s pretty country, and he can flat-out play. He was just looking for a chance, and he came to Charlotte.

“Now he’s got a chance, and he’s making the most of it.”