After
suffering a 67-17 last season, the Aggies (3-2) defeated the
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-3) 22-3 at Aggie Stadium on Oct.
8.
After suffering a 67-17 last season, the Aggies (3-2) defeated the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-3) 22-3 at Aggie Stadium on Oct. 8.
“It’s a great win, it’s good to be an Aggie,” said A&T head coach Rod Broadway.
The Aggies are riding a two game winning streak, their first since the 2009 season.
The A&T offense executed a conservative approach, running between the tackles and possession as well as taking advantage of scoring opportunities in the red zone.
For the second straight week, the A&T defense held their opponent to a mere three points.
The Aggies took a 2-0 lead on the first play of the game when BCU quarterback Jamarr Robinson recovered a fumble in his own endzone for a safety.
Both teams punted on the next two drives.
A 27-yard return by BCU safety D.J. Howard, after an interception of Aggie quarterback Lewis Kindle during the Aggies second drive, set up a 42-yard Sven Hurd field goal, giving the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.
The BCU lead would not last long as the Aggies responded quickly on their next offensive possession.
A shoelace catch by receiver Wallace Miles on an early third down and strong running by running back Mike Mayhew helped the Aggies set up a successful 29-yard field goal by A&T kicker, Jose Camacho-Garcia.
On the next possession, the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs after BCU’s Anthony Jordan was stopped behind the 1st down marker by A&T defensive tackle Brandon Young on 4th down.
The Aggies held a 5-3 lead after the first quarter.
Early in the second, sophomore running back Dominique Drake raised some eyebrows when an agile spin move in the midst of numerous tacklers allowed him to bounce to the sidelines for a gain of 33 yards.
When asked about the play, Drake said, “I had to make a big play in a big game.”
Drake finished the game with a career high 93 rushing yards on 19 carries.
A 23-yard Kindle-Miles connection a few plays later put the Aggies in prime scoring position.
Miles, who finished the previous week’s game (Morgan State) with no receptions, compiled 58-yards on 4 catches.
A timely play action fake on third and goal confused the Wildcats man-to-man coverage, as Kindle was able to find fullback Devin Moore for the touchdown.
The touchdown gave the Aggies a 12-3 lead.
Both teams played the field position game on the next three drives, each resulting in a punt.
A&T defensive back, Justin Ferrell, ended the final BCU drive of the half with a juggling interception.
At halftime, the Wildcats swapped University of Maryland transfer Jamarr Williams for backup quarterback Jackie Wilson after Williams compiled only seven total yards and a safety in the first half.
BCU’s first drive of the third quarter was ended when A&T linebacker Brandon Hover tackled Rodney Scott a yard short of first-down marker on fourth-down.
A costly BCU offsides penalty on fourth-and-three on the following drive allowed Kindle and the A&T offense to continue down the field putting together a 14 play 76-yard drive.
The drive was ended when Jose Camacho-Garcia made a 24-yard field goal.
The Aggies held a 15-3 lead at the end of the third quarter.
BCU’s next drive ended when they rolled the dice on fourth-down and, once again, crapped out when A&T’s D’vonte Grant tackled BCU’s Rodney Scott seven yards short of the first-down marker.
The Wildcats converted on none of their three fourth-down attempts.
A&T’s Kindle returned the favor with an interception of his own on the first play of the next drive.
After an eight yard Wilson-Scott hookup, BCU’s Scott began to juggle the ball just before A&T’s Brandon Hover laid the boom.
The thundering impact by Hover separated Scott from the ball, arousing A&T fans throughout the stadium.
Ending an unusual sequence of possessions, the Scott fumble was recovered by Brandon Hover at the BCU 14 yard line.
The A&T defense forced seven fumbles and recovered three.
The Aggies recorded their final points of the game when Mayhew plunged into the endzone on a 9-yard run.
Mayhew gained 117 yards on 29 carries against the Wildcats.
When asked about the Aggie’s performance Mayhew said, “Bethune slaughtered us last year, it’s revenge for me.”
The A&T defense held the Bethune Cookman offense to a total of 108 yards on 48 offensive plays.
Bethune Cookman gained a minimal 5 rushing yards on 25 carries.
When asked about his defensive game plan against Bethune-Cookman, Coach Rod Broadway said, “Our number one goal is stop the run.”
The A&T offense operated conservatively after obtaining a substantial lead on the Wildcats, dominating the time of possession.
A&T accounted for 40 minutes and 41 seconds of possession in the 60-minute game.
A successful inside running game from the I-formation allowed the Aggies to utilize the play action fake.
Team chemistry and camaraderie is obvious amongst the Aggies’ players and will be important as they attempt to continue their winning streak.
The A&T Aggies (3-2) will attempt to get their third straight conference win in their highly anticipated homecoming game against Delaware State Hornets (2-4) on Saturday, Oct. 15 at Aggie Stadium.
The Hornets were defeated 38-21 by the Norfolk State Spartans in week six.
[email protected] and follow us on Twitter @ATRegister
- Kalyn Hoyle, Register Reporter