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It wasn’t the dominant, remove-all-doubt type of performance that the Aggies had hoped for, but their 27-20 overtime victory against an inspired Winston-Salem State team last Saturday may have served an even greater purpose.
On a night when A&T clearly wasn’t playing its best football, the team still found a way to overcome adversity late and made enough big plays in all three phases of the game when it counted most.
“I’m so proud of our players for the way they fought back,” said A&T head coach Vincent Brown, who enjoyed his first career home win in what was a sold-out Truist Stadium. “It would have been very easy to get down on ourselves when Winston scored late in the fourth quarter to take a lead, but our kids maintained their composure. We knew we had put countless hours into preparing for two-minute situations - as this game ended up playing out.”
Trailing by three points late in the fourth quarter, sophomore quarterback Kevin White Jr. led A&T down the field on 14-play, 61-yard drive to set up an Andrew Brown’s 31-yard game-tying field goal. The Aggies had to convert two different fourth downs attempts on that drive and White connected with three different receivers.
In the extra period, redshirt junior running back Wesley Graves exploded through the line for a 16-yard touchdown run and then on the ensuing possession, the A&T defense forced an errant pass by WSSU quarterback Daylin Lee on fourth and goal to preserve the win.
Yes, the outcome was much tougher than expected against a Division II opponent, but the confidence gained by the late game comeback may come in handy this weekend when A&T begins conference play against perennial CAA power Delaware.
The Aggies will encounter a well-rested Blue Hen team that is 1-0 on the season and coming off an early bye week. Kickoff is set for 1bp.m. at Truist Stadium.
“Getting into conference play, it’s really exciting to be able to go up against a team like Delaware and see how we match up,” Brown said.
Brown knows his team must perform better in the trenches if the Aggies hope to move the ball against a formidable Blue Hens defense that was ranked fifth in the CAA a season ago.
Offensively, A&T compiled 379 total yards against last week WSSU but struggled to sustain drives and converted just eight out of 17 attempts on third down.
White finished with 174 passing yards and one touchdown on 21-of-32 attempts, but he also threw an interception in the first quarter and struggled with his accuracy for much of the night.
Brown said his young quarterback who is known for his superior athleticism is still growing as a pocket passer. However, Brown was encouraged by the command of the offense and composure he displayed during crunch time.
“Early in the game, there were a couple balls that he threw that came out a little high and I think those are plays where the more experience he gets and the most comfortable he gets in the offense, the better his is going to be,” Brown said. “But he regained his composure down the stretch when it mattered and really made throws with poise, accuracy, and velocity,”
On the ground, Graves led all rushers with a career-high 107 rushing yards and the Aggies had 234 total rushing yards against WSSU.
Junior running back Kenji Christian - who dazzled in the season opener at Wake Forest - added 83 rushing yards against the Rams before leaving the game in the second half with an apparent hamstring injury.
Brown said Christian is currently undergoing treatment for the injury and his status for Saturday is still undetermined.
Aggie fans got better news on Monday when Browns announced during his weekly press conference that star cornerback Karon Prunty was cleared to return to practice and is expected to play this week against Delaware.
Prunty, who is considered an NFL prospect and was named to the preseason All-CAA first team, was carted off the field last Saturday after sustaining a scary neck injury.
“He never loss any feeling,” Brown said. “He had some soreness in his neck and any time you’re dealing with injuries around the head or neck area, doctors out of an abundance of caution are going to (place the player on a cart), take him in to get a CT scan or x-ray to make sure there’s no damage there. The CT scans came back clear and so now he’s walking around and he was back at practice yesterday.”
A&T will definitely benefit by having a healthy Prunty this Saturday, as the Blue Hens boast one of the most dynamic offensive units in the CAA.
Two weeks ago, Delaware quarterback Ryan O’Conner threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-17 rout of Bryant University.
Graduate running back Marcus Yarns, who was also named preseason first team All-CAA, had 96 total yards and a pair of touchdowns against Bryant.
A year ago, Yarns had 126 yards on the ground against A&T as the Blue Hens rushed for 322 total yards in what was a hard-fought 21-6 homecoming victory.
This might be the Aggies last chance to avenge that loss, as the Blue Hens are moving up to the FBS ranks next year and joining Conference-USA.
“Last year we got a chance to travel up to their place and literally had a chance to win the game, but we turned the ball over a multitude of times,” Brown said. “But what I’ve seen from our team thus far is that we’ve grown."
“We’re not a finished product by any means, but there’s been a lot of maturity and I’m really excited about what the future of our program holds.”
