The Aggies fully defend their home turf in their final regular season game, not dropping a single home game for the regular season.
Both teams had offensive woes to start the match, as neither could put up points in the first quarter. Head coach for the Aggies, Sam Washington, acknowledged that Charleston Southern is a tough match-up for his team.
“They’ve given us a fight every time we’ve played them. Their style of play is very similar to ours. I thought those linebackers were fabulous, running through and knowing when to attack,” Washington added. “They did some things that gave us problems.”
Despite the tough first quarter, the Aggies responded in the second.
N.C. A&T receiver Taymon Cooke ran the kickoff return for a 95-yard touchdown to tie the game up in the second, leaving the score at 7-7 heading into halftime.
The Buccaneers struck first to start the second half of the game. Bartalo completed a deep pass to tight-end Landon Sauers to set up Charleston Southern in the red zone. The Buccaneers could not get into the endzone and had to settle for a field goal, leaving the score 10-7 at the start of the 3rd.
With the Buccaneers leading in the 3rd, Aggie running-back Bhayshul Tuten began to get more involved in the offense.
A 47-yard pass from Fowler to Tuten set up 1st and goal for the Aggies, resulting in a 1-yard touchdown run by Tuten to give the Aggies the lead. After a missed extra point, the score stood at 13-10.
After a holdout by the Aggies’ defense, the Aggies quickly got the ball back, and Fowler completed the six-yard pass to Tuten for his second touchdown of the match, giving the Aggies a 10-point lead to end the 3rd.
This game was Tuten’s seventh straight game with at least one touchdown and ninth straight game with 100+ rushing yards, which ties the record in the Big South.
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth quarter, leaving the match’s final score 20-10, with the Aggies claiming victory.
The Aggies face Gardner-Webb for their last regular season game, where they’ll have the chance to win their sixth conference championship in eight seasons.
“We’re ready to get to work for Monday’s practice,” said A&T linebacker Tyquan King. “We must have a win. We have to come up with a way to do that somehow.”
The game will be on Nov. 19 at noon. This game will determine who will have bragging rights in the Big South. To stream the game, visit ESPN+ and stay updated with the Aggies football team by visiting N.C. A&T Football.
