In the seventh game of the season, the N.C. A&T Aggies fail to grab their first home and conference win.
The Richmond Spiders defeated the Aggies 33-10 this past Saturday. The Spiders capitalized on the four turnovers by the Aggies, scoring 21 points off the turnovers.
“All the turnovers are critical. It is super hard to overcome three touchdowns off turnovers. It’s hard to win if you give up 21 points and the defense hasn’t even touched the field,” said Aggies head coach Vincent Brown. “Your chances of winning if you turn the ball over twice are astronomical. If you turn it over three times, you almost have no chance of winning the game.”
The Spiders jumped out to a quick 17- 0 lead after scoring ten points on Aggies turnovers, one being a 48-yard pick-six.
Aggies’ receiver Taymon Cooke got the crowd after his 91-yard kickoff return. This was his third 90-plus kickoff return of the year and fourth of his career.
“What a dynamic player we have in Taymon Cooke, three touchdowns on kickoff already,” Brown said. “He’s a real threat to take to the house every time he touches the ball.”
The Aggies got three points before going into half after an interception by Avarion Cole. Quarterback Kevin White broke loose for a big 50-yard run to put the Aggies in position for the field goal. The Aggies went into the half down 23-10.
The offensive struggles continued throughout this game, only amassing 145 total yards, the second-fewest they’ve had all season. True freshman quarterback Kevin White was contained in the pocket most of the game and struggled through the air.
“Kevin is a talented young player but a true freshman. Once he learns how to be a big-time college quarterback and make quick decisions, he’ll be fine,” Brown said. “But we are very encouraged by his talents and his skill level. We just have to continue to coach him.”
The Aggies held the Richmond offense to three points in the second half, but another pick-six by the Richmond defense put the icing on the cake and the game out of reach.
With this loss on the season, the Aggies cannot finish over a .500 record, only the fifth time since 2009.
“We have two choices every time we go out: you can be average or great, and I choose to be great at what I’m doing,” Brown said. “Sometimes the lessons learned are painful. It’s not always going to be peaches and cream.”
The next game for the Aggies is another HBCU foe, the Hampton Pirates. A&T football will travel to Virginia to take on the Pirates, coming off a 47-3 loss to the Delaware Blue Hens. Kickoff will be Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.
