North Carolina State’s Ashford taken off field on stretcher in opener at UConn

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — North Carolina State safety Rakeim Ashford was injured and taken off the field on a stretcher Thursday night during the third quarter of the Wolfpack’s season opener against UConn. Ashford’s condition was not immediately known, but coach Dave Doeren said preliminary reports were positive. Ashford was hit on the NC State sideline at the end of a 40-yard kickoff return by NC State’s Julian Gray with 1:54 left in the quarter. He went down and lay motionless for about 10 minutes as both teams knelt and watched emergency crews work on him.  Ashford was eventually strapped to a stretcher and wheeled off the field. UConn’s Isiah Davis was called for unnecessary roughness on the play.