The future stars of North Carolina A&T went into Tallahassee with a winning mentality as they trailed with 1:04 left in the game. 

But no. 3 Florida A&M quickly changed that mindset.

Aggie freshman Dontavious Payne was manhandled on a fourth down run by Rattlerdefenders as A&T fell short 31-27 loss in Tallahassee, Fla. 

It was the Aggies second consecutive loss, as they finished winless to Florida teams in the MEAC this season.

Although the Aggies came up empty-handed on in the winner’s column, they didn’t statistically mainly because of their underclassmen heroics.

Freshman quarterback Lewis Kindle completed 16- of-30 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown.

He also added 54 yards and another touchdown with his legs, and freshman running back Dontavious Payne rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown of his own.

The defense, which started two freshman linebackers and a freshman safety, forced six turnovers and the special teams blocked a 46-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.

“I felt we had the first down,” said head coach Alonzo Lee about their final offensive play.

“We didn’t get a measurement because the sticks were already moved. That was a bitter taste for me to swallow, but we’re moving on.”

Florida A&M’s 7-2 record qualifies them as the third best team amongst black colleges, and A&T’s young lineup nearly took them down.

With a 3-4 record in the MEAC and a conference championship out of reach, Coach Lee also decided to start a freshman wide receiver and tight end against the very experienced Rattlers.

 “We are a young team that is growing each and every week,”Lee said.

“Today, we went against the No. 2 team in the conference and made some big plays.”

” We just have to get to a point where we are making enough big plays to win.

The Aggies got one of those big plays midway through the second quarter trailing 17-7. Kindle hit senior tight end Brett Fisher for 22 yards and a touchdown to pull within a fieldgoal.

A fumble by Florida A&M’s Eddie Rocker on the ensuing possession gave the Aggies the ball on the FAMU 23.

The very next play was a touchdown from Kindle to junior Terrence Whitaker. The Aggies took a 21-17 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, A&T saw their freshman running back turn the ball over on fumbles twice.

The second of which was turned into a touchdown for Florida A&M on the next play. Four minutes later they returned a punt for a touchdown to go up by ten points.

They wouldn’t surrender the lead anymore as they went on to win.

The Aggies will head to Orangeburg, S.C. on November 21 to end the season against top-ranked South Carolina State. 

• Prince Askew