A&T In Position to Capture Another Title After Win

SAVANNAH, Georgia  – The only thing left to do for North Carolina A&T football is to finish. Thanks to another superbly effective running game that led to a 28-12 win over Savannah State Saturday afternoon at Ted Wright Stadium, the Aggies are in a position to win another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.

N.C. A&T (8-2, 5-1 MEAC) needs a win next week at arch-rival North Carolina Central, no easy task, to claim at least a share of the conference title. It would be their fourth in the past five years. A Florida A&M loss to Bethune-Cookman in the Florida Classic in Orlando coupled with an Aggies win would give the Aggies the outright title and their third Air Force Celebration Bowl Bid in four years.

There are other scenarios to where the Aggies could share the title with teams such as B-CU and S.C. State but they all involve the Aggies losing to NCCU. Of course, there are NCAA FCS playoff bid implications involved as well.

So, while the Aggies try to finish strong next week in Durham, how the Aggies are finishing games is a major concern for first-year head coach Sam Washington. Saturday’s second half against the Savannah State Tigers triggered Washington’s memory to past games where the Aggies started strong but were not as strong on the dismount.

“We’re six seconds away from being undefeated. I don’t know how many people realize that,” said Washington referring to the Aggies 16-13 loss to Morgan State on a field goal with two seconds remaining and their 22-21 loss to Florida A&M with four seconds remaining. “We have to learn how to finish football games,” Washington continued. “We come in well-prepared, but we have to put more of an emphasis on finishing.”

N.C. A&T’s 21-0 start against the Tigers Saturday was outstanding. What made it impressive was that the game against the Tigers was sandwiched in between last week’s Greatest Homecoming On Earth and next week’s heated rivalry game with NCCU. Such a scenario might leave any team susceptible to the dreaded “trap game.” But that wasn’t the case for the Aggies.

“Savannah State has been a trap for everybody,” said Washington. “There are a lot of things they do very well. That’s a good football team with a lot of good athletes.”

The Aggies are not without their share of good players. That was evident when Redshirt junior quarterback Kylil Carter started for an injured Lamar Raynard. Carter is no stranger to game action even with a first-team All-MEAC performer ahead of him on the depth chart. Carter has made several appearances this season including his orchestration of a fourth-quarter comeback in the Aggies upset win over East Carolina when Raynard left the game with an injury.

He was back in command of the offense and rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

“Kylil has been capable of starting since he’s been here. He has a very talented young man playing in front of him right now,” said Washington. “But I consider (Kylil) our finisher. He finishes off games for us when we need him to. He’s very good at managing our fourth quarters, and he has done that throughout the season. With his ability to run the football, it adds an extra something to our offense when we’re trying to run down the clock.”

As the starter, he took the Aggies 88 yards on nine plays for the game’s first score as redshirt sophomore running back Jah-Maine Martin scored on an 11-yard run. Martin contributed to the Aggies 274-yard rushing performance by adding 70 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Carter set up the Aggies second touchdown with a 41-yard carry. It led to a 14-yard touchdown run from Cartwright who dashed through an enormous hole for his fifth touchdown of the season. The Aggies used a seven-yard SSU punt to close out their first-half scoring. After the punt, the Aggies took over at the SSU 15-yard line. Three plays later, Carter connected with redshirt sophomore Zachary Leslie for a 10-yard TD pass.

But for as good as all of that was, Washington had a simple message for his team after the game. “We have to play better in the second half,” he said.

N.C. A&T turned the ball over three times in the second half on two fumbles and a muffed punt. Only one of those turnovers led to a touchdown, but Washington was also displeased by the fact the Tigers also had a long scoring drive in the second half.

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“What surprised me today were the turnovers,” said Washington. “Turning the ball over is something we do not allow or appreciate. It is not a part of our character.”

After SSU’s second touchdown of the second half cut the Aggies lead to 21-12 in the fourth quarter, senior William Hollingsworth started the process of putting the game away as he returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the SSU 33. Carter eventually scored on a 27-yard run for a 28-12 Aggies lead with 5:14 to play.

The Aggie-Eagle rivalry will be televised for the third straight season as ESPNU will carry the game. Game time is 2 p.m. As for what is on the line, MEAC title, Celebration Bowl bid or maybe even a playoff appearance, Washington has a remedy for all anxiousness.

“One game at a time. That’ our motto,” Washington said.



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