The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Aggies took on the Phoenix of Elon University at Rhodes Stadium in Elon, N.C.

As the Aggies received the ball first, it was a tough start as no one scored. Elon’s John Gallagher had a 20-yard field goal to take the lead 0-3 in the first half. Aggies’ kicker Cody Jones had a 24-yard field goal, bringing the game to a tie of 3-3 with 4:52 left in the first quarter. Then with 28 seconds left in the quarter, Denzel Keys had a 2-yard pass to Tarik Cohen for a touchdown. Jones scored a field goal that gave the Aggies a 10-3 lead.

At the start of the second quarter, Elon’s kicker, Gallagher had a 23-yard field goal to bring the score to 10-6 with 6:40 left. The Aggie defense continued to give Elon trouble. Cohen had a 40 yard run for the Aggies to move them closer to a touchdown, but Elon’s defense held them back. Both teams continued to play tough defense as sacks came to both quarterbacks. Elon broke through with Gallagher again. He scored a 32-yard field goal to take the lead before halftime 10-12.

After the half, there were 2 interceptions in 3 plays. The Aggies’ Lorenz Suttles managed a sack against Elon’s quarterback, Mike Quinn, and then intercepted the ball for the Aggies. Elon’s Gallagher had a field goal for 22 yards.

“We have to get better at stopping people midfield and continue to get better,” says Aggies’ head coach Ron Broadway.

The game got competitive in the forth quarter. Cohen had an 81-yard run and Jones with a kick, making the score 17-12. As the Aggies took the lead they held Elon from any scoring for  the last 11 minutes to take the win for a second year in a row against Elon.

“Without a doubt, Tarik is one of the best in the country, he’s one of those special players you get to coach once in a lifetime. He’s a warrior and he can play,” said Broadway.

Cohen ended the game with 234 rushing yards, as he played against a high school teammate, Andre Davis. Davis says Tarik is “a special player with a big heart.” “It’s a lot of great things to say about him and it was good to see him excel in the game even though it wasn’t good for our team,” Davis said.

“The game played out how I thought, the offense was about what I expected,” said Rich Strosky, head coach for Elon said at the post-game press conference.  “I think it was a great game. We will be back at Rhodes stadium next year then we go back to the Aggie Stadium. It’s a great atmosphere, top-notch band, and a good crowd,” said Strosky.

“The thing that I like is that we have a good group of guys and we have good work ethic and the guys are working. I just wish we can eliminate some of the mistakes that we make. A block on the punt returns against Coastal Carolina, those are the type of things that can lose you a game. Those are the types of things we need to correct if we’re going to be a good football team,” said Broadway.

The Aggies take on Chowan for Family Weekend on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Aggie Stadium.

• Alexis Wainwright Sports Reporter