The story seems to be repeating itself for the Aggies this year as they come up short for the eighth time this season; this time on their home turf against the Towson Tigers, 32-42.
The Aggies were outscored early on in the first half 21-10, but attempted a comeback in the second half, actually out-scoring the Tigers by one point in second-half points.
The Tigers first-half performance was the deciding factor in this win against the Aggies, which secured the Tigers their fourth win of the season.
First-year head coach Vincent Brown continued to start off his press conferences in the same manner that he has since the start of the season, “What a beautiful day it is in Aggie Land.”
Although A&T’s record has been anything but beautiful sitting at 1-8 overall and 0-6 in conference play, coach Brown believes that this team has shown a ton of grit and determination throughout the season.
“My message to the team after Saturday’s loss was that some lessons are best learned through the school of hard knocks,” said Brown.
“But, we all understand that in spite of the loss, there is always something to learn from. There’s something positive to build on, and there are a lot of positive things that happened on Saturday.”
Even with the Aggies coming up short, there were some notable takeaways in this homecoming game from key players who helped keep the game close.
A&T put up their best offensive showing of the season against Towson. Running back Kenji Christian rushed for 140 yards making that his highest rush in his career, and got into the endzone three times.
True freshman quarterback Kevin White started the homecoming game, but got injured and backup Eli Brickhandler stepped in. Brickhandler eventually went down also. Brown says that there should not be much to worry about there.
A&T Quarterback Eli Brickhandler completed 63 percent of his passes and threw for 181 yards, including a touchdown pass to receiver Darren Bennett at the start of the 4th quarter.
The Tigers quarterback Nathan Kent’s completion percentage was almost the same as Brickhandler’s, with him completing 64 percent of his passes, however, Kent threw for two touchdown passes and 263 yards.
“We fully expect both quarterbacks to be ready for the game,” said Brown. “Kevin has a lower leg injury, nothing significant… Eli, he’ll be fine.”
With a sold-out homecoming crowd on Saturday, Coach Brown was asked about his thoughts on being a part of his first “GHOE.” With laughs echoing across the room by Brown and the media, he said that it was a sight to behold.
“I’ve been to many homecomings over the years… I see why it’s called the ‘Greatest Homecoming On Earth,’” said Brown. “I hope that even though we didn’t come away with the win, everyone who attended saw a team that has no quit,” said Brown.
“It’s gonna get better. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
The Aggies have two more games to go in the season, and as always, the goal for the Aggies is to win both games.
It is notable to mention that the Aggies have been utilizing their passing game more during their last couple of games against Towson and Hampton. The Aggies have thrown for 459 yards and three touchdowns in their past two games, as opposed to 359 yards and 0 touchdowns in their past seven games combined.
“I think for the first time all season, we really stayed on schedule throughout the game,” said Brown. “Some of it had to do with what we were doing schematically; finding ways to get our players the ball in spaces to create explosive plays.”
The Aggies look to strengthen their passing game, and come up with their second win of the season this Saturday, at 1pm against the Rhode Island Rams. This will be their first-ever meeting against the number two passing offense in the CAA, but Brown made it known that the Aggies are going up there to win the game.
Streaming locations for this game include FloFootball, WSJS 1400 AM, 103.5 FM and XM Radio 385.
