NEWARK, Del. – On Saturday, North Carolina A&T did the things football teams do to win. The Aggies forced turnovers. They moved the ball into the red zone and Delaware territory. They even made third-down stops throughout the game to get their defense off the field.
But the Aggies turned the ball over three times and could not put up enough points to take advantage of some of those things in a 21-6 loss to No. 8 Delaware at Delaware Stadium. The Aggies dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference.
"I was proud of how our defense played throughout the game, getting stop after stop after stop," said A&T head coach Vincent Brown after the Blue Hens were 2-for-11 on third downs. "Our offense was able to move the ball at times, but we just were not consistent enough to come away with the win."
Delaware, who improved to 5-1 and 3-0 in league play, conducted an eight-play, 67-yard drive, including a 25-yard touchdown run from Kyron Cumby to give the Blue Hens a 7-0 lead. But as the rain poured inside Delaware Stadium, the Aggies made it a fight from there. Unfortunately, they could never deliver the blow that would make the difference on the scoreboard.
On its first drive, A&T put together an 8-play drive. The Aggies reached the Delaware 36-yard line on a 2nd-and-7 before a two-yard loss from running back Wesley Graves, and a 3-yard completion to Christian MacDonald left the Aggies with a 4th-and-6 from the Delaware 35. A&T elected to pin the Blue Hens inside their 10, which resulted in a 31-yard punt from Caleb Brickhouse that gave the Blue Hens a 1st-and-10 from their 4.
The strategy appeared to pay dividends. Cornerback Karon Prunty tipped a Ryan O'Connor pass in the air on the first down play that Avarion Cole slid under for an interception at the Delaware 8. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty cost the Aggies 15 yards after the interception, giving them 1st-and-10 at the 23 instead of 1st-and-goal at the 8.
Another unfortunate turn would stifle the Aggies two plays later on a 3rd-and-2 from the Blue Hens 15. Super-fast freshman quarterback Kevin White scrambled out of the pocket and sprinted down to the 2-yard line. As the Blue Hen defenders closed in, White tried to stretch out the ball to extend it beyond the pylon for an A&T touchdown.
The slippery conditions caused him to lose his grip on the football as it fell out of bounds. The officials ruled the play a turnover and a touchback. Replay officials upheld the call, spoiling a prime scoring opportunity for A&T.
The Aggies did get on the board to start the second quarter, aided by a 12-yard run from Graves on a 3rd-and-7 to give the Aggies a 1st-and-10 on the Delaware 31. Three plays later, Owen Daffer booted a 43-yard field goal, his longest of the season, to cut the Blue Hens lead to 7-3.
Delaware answered with an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended with a 3-yard Cumby touchdown. The Blue Hens had another first-half drive that ended with a missed field goal, and despite a Blue Hens blocked punt toward the end of the half, the Aggies defense kept the Blue Hens off the board. DeTerias Glover stopped a Cumby scoring attempt from the 2-yard line as time expired in the first half, leaving Delaware with a 14-3 halftime lead.
"We played the eighth-ranked team in the country, and we went toe-to-toe with them even though we turned the ball over three times and had a punt blocked and all the other things that went wrong," said Brown. "The difference is not that much. We know we have some things we must improve on in a number of areas, but I think our kids are still playing hard and competing to the end, and the foundation of success is built on that, competing to the very end."
After the Blue Hens took advantage of an Aggies turnover to score on a two-yard touchdown pass from O'Connor to Jordan Townsend for a 21-3 lead, the Aggies put together one of their better drives of the season. They drove the ball 57 yards on 13 plays, as Daffer connected on a 23-yard field goal. A&T's 13 plays on a scoring drive marked a season-high as the Aggies cut Delaware's lead to 21-6.
A&T moved deep into Blue Hen territory again to open the fourth quarter. But as Graves completed a 13-yard gain, Nic Ware forced him to fumble at the Delaware 15, giving the Blue Hens possession of the football. The Aggies were not able to mount much of an offensive from there.
"It was very disappointing to leave here without a win," said Brown. "You can't win against a really good team if you turn the ball over three times. One time, we turned it over inside the 1-yard line, which resulted in a touchback. We made too many mistakes to win the football game tonight."
