In a game that went down to the wire, the blue and gold snapped a six game losing streak with a much needed 21-20 victory over the Howard Bison Head Saturday in Greensboro.

With a new leader in newly appointed interim Head Coach George Ragsdale, the Aggie defense came out the gates strong causing Howard red-shirt Junior Quarterback Floyd Haigler to throw a costly interception to Aggie defensive back Ihsan Shaheed for the 29 yard return for the touchdown.  “They turned it up a notch today,” said interim Head Coach George Ragsdale.

The Aggies continued with the more aggressive offensive schemes using a two-tailback system of Senior Michael Ferguson and new comer to Aggie nation, red shirt freshman Nigel Tomlin. Running back Michael Ferguson ran for a 3 yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Aggie’s a comfortable 14-0 lead.

The Bison responded with a run of their own by Quarterback Floyd Haigler, who used his athleticism for a 7 yard touchdown run to make it a game, but a missed field goal by punter Patrick Wolf left the score at 14-6 at the half.

Momentum shifted in the second half as the Bison capitalized on an over anxious Aggie defense resulting in a 54 yard touchdown run by Junior Ramon Mcelrathbey followed by a successful two point conversion, by Karlo Whittaker to even the score at 14 a piece.The Bison remained consistent throughout the quarter with a 2 yard touchdown run by Karlo Whittaker to gain the lead, but a failed two point conversion pass by Haigler made it a 20-14 ball game.

“They were tough,” said Ragsdale.With fifteen minutes left in regulation in the score 20-14, it was evident that both teams in the beginning were playing off sheer emotion. However, the composure of the A&T being down six points with less than ten minutes in the game kept the crowd on edge.Ferguson and Tomlin helped cap a crucial 4 yard touchdown run to give the team a 21-20 lead.

Ferguson rushed for 52 yard on 23 carries, while Tomlin lead the charge with 69 yards on 14 attempts averaging a staggering 4.9 yards per rush.”He get better every game,” said Ragsdale referring to Tomlin and his recent break out performances as the complimentary back to Ferguson .In the final minutes, the Aggie defense pressured the Bison offense leading to a fumble recovery with 55 seconds to go in regulation to seal the deal.Ragsdale indicates that the win is a sign of things to come.

• Carlton Brown