GREENSBORO
According to N.C. A&T coach Rod Broadway, the only opponent that could beat the Aggies in its homecoming game against Virginia University of Lynchburg was themselves.
And that theory proved correct when N.C. A&T (5-3) committed an early turnover that allowed the Dragons to take a quick lead. But the Aggies then reeled off 38 unanswered points on their way to an easy 59-12 win.
“I’m proud of our guys to stay focused and to beat a team that we should beat,” Broadway said. “When you play people like this, we’re not playing against an opponent, we’re playing against ourselves.”
What Broadway hopes the game will teach his team is to continue to play hard no matter what the score and continue to improve.
“It’s about trying to get better individually. That’s what we’re trying to get our guys to see,” Broadway said. “When we can get to the point where it’s all about us and the improvement we make and how we play then I think we’ll start becoming a championship football team.”
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The game didn’t start positively for the Aggies. On their fifth play from scrimmage, freshman running back Tarik Cohen fumbled and the Dragons recovered. Virginia University of Lynchburg ran a play-action pass on its first play and Devon Stewart got behind the Aggies defense for a 54-yard touchdown reception and a 6-0 lead, momentarily quieting the homecoming crowd.
Once the Aggies got rolling, they were unstoppable. On their second possession, it only took them seven plays to go 63 yards and take a 7-6 lead with a 12-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Lewis Kindle to Darren Bullock.
“They wanted to stop the run so they were giving us a lot of guys in the box,” Kindle said. “So we had to throw more today. We executed. It’s a little emotional because it’s my last homecoming so I definitely wanted to go out and have a good game and have a good showing for the fans. And just win.”
After a fumble by the Dragons, N.C. A&T scored quickly again. This time Kindle found a wide open Joseph Spann for an 11-yard touchdown to make the score 14-6.
The Aggies scored again before the end of the first quarter by going 57 yards in six plays.
Desmond Lawrence went the final nine yards on a reverse play, making the score 21-6 after the first period.
N.C. A&T lost the ball on fumble on its next possession, but the defense got it back with an interception. The offense then went the other direction for another touchdown. Dudley graduate Ricky Lewis scored from 7-yards out to finish the drive and provide a 28-6 lead.
Another interception led the Aggies final score of the first half. This time the drive stalled inside the 10 and N.C. A&T had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Cody Jones and a 31-6 halftime lead.
In all, the Aggies’ defense forced seven turnovers and held the Dragons to only 178 yards of total offense.
“We expect to get turnovers every game to win ballgames and help our offense,” said senior linebacker Bryan Houston. “We were just blessed to get so many today with everybody flying around. Just to have fun with my teammates with it being my last homecoming was special.”
Kindle finished with 229 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Va. Lynchburg 6 0 6 0 — 12 N.C. A&T 21 10 14 14 — 59
V—Stewart 54 pass from Yeager (kick failed)
N—Bullock 12 pass from Kindle (Co.Jones kick)
N—Spann 11 pass from Kindle (Co.Jones kick)
N—Lawrence 9 run (Co.Jones kick)
N—Lewis 7 run (Co.Jones kick)
N—FG Co.Jones 23
N—Lewis 1 run (Co.Jones kick)
V—A.Johnson 95 kickoff return (kick failed)
N—Cohen 22 run (Co.Jones kick)
N—Drake 6 run (Co.Jones kick)
N—Quick 17 run (Co.Jones kick)
A—21,500.
VaLy N.C. A&T First downs 8 31 Rushes-yards 32-41 51-213 Passing 137 239 Comp-Att-Int 8-19-3 18-25-0 Return Yards 0 66 Punts-Avg. 4-42.5 1-48.0 Fumbles-Lost 5-4 2-2 Penalties-Yards 7-58 6-52 Time of Possession 24:28 33:21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Va. Lynchburg, Shinhoster 16-30, Yeager 9-14, Brannon 4-8, Fields 1-1, McPhearson 1-(minus 3), Smith 1-(minus 9). NC A&T, Cohen 28-130, Wood 5-28, Quick 1-17, Drake 4-12, Lawrence 1-9, Lewis 2-8, Burgess 5-8, Kindle 4-1, Team 1-0.
PASSING—Va. Lynchburg, Yeager 8-19-3-137. NC A&T, Kindle 17-23-0-229, Quick 1-2-0-10.
RECEIVING—Va. Lynchburg, Crawford 3-39, Stewart 2-71, Green 1-23, McGee 1-9, Lewter 1-(minus 5). NC A&T, Bullock 5-59, Francis 3-53, McMinn 2-29, Spann 2-28, Cohen 2-9, Swann 1-18, Warren 1-16, Brown 1-14, Lawrence 1-13.
n.c. A&T 59, virginia university of lynchburg 12
see more photos from homecoming weekend, including the parade, at www.news-record.com
N.C. A&T recovers quickly from an early mistake on way to rout