This Saturday afternoon homecoming weekend will be capped off with the Aggies (5-3, 3-2) facing Bethune-Cookman at Aggie Stadium.

The Aggies under first-year head coach Alonzo Lee, need just one win to secure their first winning season in six years.

The two teams have met at A&T’s homecoming seven times, with the Aggies leading the series 4-3. The last homecoming resulted in a 24-20 Wildcat victory.

Aggie Offense

The starting quarterback will be Carlton Fears, who has thrown for over 807 total yards and four touchdowns through seven games this season.

Running back Mike Mayhew has ran for 424 yards averaging 4.6 yards per carry and 5 touchdowns, while Dontavious Payne has also helped stabilize the ground game with 333 yards and 2 touchdowns total this season.

The passing game has been below average at under 120 yards per game. Wallace Miles and Larry Raper are both averaging 13 yards per catch. Miles is the leading receiver with 316 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Aggie Defense

Over the first 7 games the Aggies have picked off a total of ten interceptions surpassing the total of interceptions the teams had the last three seasons.

Defensive back Justin Ferrell is having stellar year. He accounts for 5 of those takeways, along with Quay Long, Andre Thornton, and Jarrell Herring rounding out the mix. These three players have a combined 52 tackles unassisted and five sacks for the year. Herring received preseason, All American honors from Consensus Draft Services, also naming Thornton preseason All- HBCU.

Rounding out Lee’s Army is leading tackler Brandon Jackson with 47 tackles and 1 sack.

Bethune-Cookman

Bethune-Cookman will come into Aggie Stadium not as dominant as last season, but they won’t come empty handed.

They have four different running backs that have accumulated more than 100 yards rushing.

Androse Bell and Matthew Johnson lead the Wildcats running attack.

On 52 carries, Bell has gained 207 yards in one touchdown mid-season and Johnson has passed for 462 yards and a touchdown.

The Aggies will also have to maintain sophomore wide-out JeVaughn Reams, who leads the team with 27 receptions for 369 yards.

Leading the charge defensively, is sophomore rover Reggie Sandilands, racking up 46 tackles already this season.

Accompanying him on the front line will be Senior Defensive Lineman Dexter Jackson, with 45 tackles of his own with 6.5 of those for a loss of over 28 yards.

Wrap-Up

If the Aggie defense can find a way to shut down the Wildcats triple-option attack, they shouldn’t have a problem with Bethune-Cookman. 

This offense is designed to run the ball effectively with usually thre different backs including the quarterback and very little passing.

The defensive players must stay on their particular assignments because one player out of position can cause the offense to explode. 

Lee emphasized in Monday’s press conference that they cannot let the Wildcats get an early lead with this style of offense because it’s hard to overcome and that the team took a couple days over the summer to practice against this offense.

The team seems confident about their preparation for Saturday as they promised a victory at Monday’s pep rally.  Only time will tell. 

• Carlton Brown