North Carolina A&T Aggies beat Grambling in Celebration Bowl to wrap up perfect season, 12-0

Celebration Bowl Trophy Ceremony Presented by Capital One

Grambling vs. North Carolina A&T (Celebration Bowl)

ATLANTA, Georgia — The Aggies are perfect. Simply perfect.

Lamar Raynard scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper, following the surge of his offensive line into the end zone with 38 seconds left, lifting N.C. A&T to a 21-14 victory over Grambling in the Celebration Bowl.

The short run wrapped up a long and successful season for the Aggies, who finish with undefeated with a 12-0 record. It's the best season in school history, and the Aggies are the first MEAC team to finish a complete unbeatn season since the conference was founded in 1971.

Marquell Cartwright, a junior running back from High Point, finished with 20 carries for 110 rushing yards and a touchdown, and he caught 3 passes for 54 yards and another touchdown.

It's A&T's second Celebratoin Bowl victory.

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Davidson (AL) OL Dylan McBride To Sign With Alabama A&M

MOBILE, Alabama -- Offensive lineman Dylan McBride, who misse
d his senior season with a torn labrum, will sign with Alabama A&M during the new early signing period beginning Wednesday.

Coach Fred Riley said the new signing period, which was approved by the NCAA last spring and runs from Dec. 20-22, has advantages and disadvantages.

"I think it's good for a select few," he said. "I think it's good for guys who want to get started in January and who are done with the love me tour and are ready to sign and get it done. I also think it's good for some schools that end up burning official visits on kids who have no intention of going to that school. It's not for everyone, but it is the right thing for some."

McBride (6-5, 260) was injured in spring practice and didn't play at all for Davidson. However, Alabama A&M already had offered him and the school remained true to that. Riley said he will be a "steal" in the SWAC.

"He's a guy who has the genes to play in the Sun Belt or in Conference USA or somewhere like that," he said. "If he'd had a senior year on film for coaches to see, I think other schools would have come in here and tried to sway him. But he really liked A&M."

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A&T's long, lean Darryl Johnson grows into role as pass rusher

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — First things first: The roster in the game program is misleading.

It lists N.C. A&T sophomore defensive end Darryl Johnson at 6-foot-5 and 226 pounds, and he probably was when he was measured.

But young men tend to grow, some into their early 20s. And Johnson, 20, is probably closer to 6-6 and 235 pounds as A&T (11-0) gets ready to play Grambling (11-1) in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta at noon today.

“I’ve gotten a lot stronger. A little faster,” Johnson said. “The biggest thing is knowledge, though, because when I first got here the process of learning the defense was hard. Getting reps in spring practice helped a lot. The more reps I get, the more I learn. It helps me play a lot faster.”

Johnson is a handful. Long and lean with a 103-inch wingspan — at least the last time he was measured — he’s built more like a basketball power forward than a defensive end.

His speed sets him apart from most defensive lineman. He’s run the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds, and he’s too quick for a lot of offensive tackles to block cleanly.

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The Blue And Gold 'Marching Machine' Prepares For Celebration Bowl

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- North Carolina A&T boasts a no-loss season, and will take on Grambling State on Saturday at noon. It's the second time A&T has played in the bowl game; the first time was 2015 - the very first year for the championship.

Arguably as important as the football game - the performances by the Blue and Gold Marching Machine. The band will hit the road tomorrow morning to play in the first bowl game at the Mercedes-Benz stadium.

It's been a months-long journey of long practice days and hard work, but directors and band members say it will all pay off when they step onto the national stage.

For months - the Aggie's Blue and Gold Marching Machine has fine-tuned every step, and every note. Every win has paved their road to Atlanta to face off against Grambling State this weekend.

“It’s very exciting. Knowing that we are one going to be the first ball game in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the second time we're going to be in the celebration bowl so it's an undefeated season for the Aggies and we're very excited,” said Assistant Director Lamon Lawhorn.

“All week we have been preparing, we've had rehearsal from 9 AM to 10 PM every single day,” said drum major Solomon Reynolds.



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Grambling's past, present on display when Tigers meet North Carolina A&T in Celebration Bowl

ATLANTA, Georgia -- The road to Saturday’s Celebration Bowl between Grambling and North Carolina A&T started April 11, 2007.

It was at legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson’s funeral where Broderick Fobbs and Rod Broadway met for the first time.

Broadway had just been announced as Grambling’s head coach. Fobbs, a former running back at Grambling under Robinson, was then the offensive coordinator at McNeese State.



The two men shared a somber moment, remembering a legend. Afterward, they exchanged phone numbers, and bond began to form.

"I loved how Broadway ran the program," said Fobbs, who's now in charge at Grambling.

Fobbs and the Tigers (11-1) square off against North Carolina A&T, the team Broadway now coaches.

Broadway spent four seasons at Grambling, winning two Southwestern Athletic Conference championships before he took the job at A&CT, returning to his home state. The Aggies are 11-0 heading into Saturday's game.

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Diaz: Celebration Bowl closes successful Kincade, Carter era at Grambling State

GRAMBLING, Louisiana – Take it all in, GramFam. Once the clock strikes all zeroes at Saturday’s Celebration Bowl, you will have watched the closing of one of the most successful chapters in Grambling State football history.

An end of a short era, but also the dawn of a lasting legacy.

For the final time, redshirt senior quarterback DeVante Kincade and senior running back Martez Carter will take the field in the Black and Gold with their fellow G-Men to square off with undefeated North Carolina A&T (11-0) for the HBCU National Championship at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.



t’s fitting the that last time Carter and Kincade don the “G” helmet that the stakes are high. Because arguably, there have been few that have recently made a bigger impact on the historic Grambling football program than the backfield duo.

Don’t mistake it, what head coach Broderick Fobbs has been able to do and how he’s elevated his alma mater back to where many believe GSU belongs has been nothing short of remarkable. Any conversation of most impactful people certainly begins with the former Tiger running back that played under the legendary coach Eddie Robinson.

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Celebration Bowl: 5 things to know about NC A&T vs. Grambling

ATLANTA, Georgia — The third annual Celebration Bowl showcases its first two winners.

No. 7 N.C. A&T (11-0) won the first Celebration Bowl in 2015, and No. 12 Grambling (11-1) is the defending champ.

The MEAC champion Aggies and SWAC champ Tigers, who are both on 11-game winning streaks, will play at Atlanta's new Mercedes-Benz Stadium at noon Saturday.

It's the start of college football's bowl season, and the national broadcast on ABC has drawn more than five million viewers so far.



And the matchup of champs from the two NCAA Division I leagues made up exclusively of HBCUs means a black college national championship is at stake.

"I told our staff before the season started, 'We have chance to have our best football team.' And we still have a chance," A&T coach Rod Broadway said. "All we need to do is win one more, and this will be the best team I've had in 15 years as a head coach. I can't say enough about these guys."

Five things to know headed into this game:

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