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WINSTON-SALEM — Alonzo Lee built a reputation as an aggressive defensive coordinator in 12 seasons coaching in the MEAC.

Turns out Alonzo Lee the head coach is even more aggressive.

Senior quarterback Carlton Fears passed for 131 yards and ran for 78 and a touchdown to lead N.C. A&T's offense during a 19-10 victory over Winston-Salem State in Lee's debut as the Aggies' head coach Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium.

It wasn't that close.

The Aggies' offense left some scoring chances on the field. They missed a field-goal attempt, saw another field-goal try blocked, got stopped on a fourth-and-3 gamble at the 8 and let the first-half clock run out 2 yards short of the end zone.

"I thought we moved the ball well, but we've got to get better in the red zone," Lee said. "We were in the red zone too many times where we did not come up with points. We've got to work on it. We're going to go back to the drawing board and find our best red-zone plays and get better."

On this night, the Aggies didn't need those points because their defense was flat-out dominant. A&T grudgingly surrendered just 90 total yards, had four sacks and recovered two fumbles.

Defensive ends Jarrell Herring and Tyre Glasper combined for nine tackles and three sacks.

"We've already got in our mind that we're champions, that we're going to win a championship," Glasper said. "That's our focus. That's what we work hard for. Tomorrow, it's back in the weight room. We're going to lift and run and start getting ready for Norfolk State."

They were more than ready for Winston-Salem State, generating scoring chance after scoring chance before finally breaking a 10-10 tie in the fourth quarter.

Freshman kicker Patrick Courtney, whose 30-yard attempt was blocked and who missed a 33-yarder wide left, got another chance after Winston-Salem State made its own special-teams mistake.

Rams punter Landen Thayer couldn't catch a high snap and was tackled for an 18-yard loss at the 10-yard line. A&T gained just 3 yards in the next three plays, but it was enough to get Courtney another chance.

His 25-yard kick flew right down the middle for a 13-10 lead with 7:54 left.

"I told him, 'Son, it's all right,' " Lee said of the block and the miss. "He's an outstanding kicker and we really believe in him. But he had a hernia, and it still hurts him a little bit, so he's still a little gun-shy. As the season goes on and he heals, he'll get better."

A&T put away the game after defensive end Brandon Young recovered a fumble at the Winston-Salem State 18 with 3:44 left. Five plays later, Aggies running back Mike Mayhew stepped through a gaping hole between his right guard and tackle for a 1-yard scoring run.

"Our guys worked hard throughout the entire summer, and it showed," Lee said. "It looked like we were in good shape. The fourth quarter, we were still striving. If we can stop inflicting wounds on ourselves with penalties and little things like that, we're going to be a pretty doggone good football team."

Fears finished 17-for-31 passing, and his 2-yard touchdown sprint to the pylon with 8:35 left in the first half gave A&T a 10-3 lead.

The Rams tied it with 4:03 left in the first half when quarterback Jarrett Dunston scored on a 1-yard run.

A&T missed two scoring chances after that. The Aggies passed up a short field-goal attempt and were stopped on downs at the 8 with 2:46 left. Then they ended the first half when Larry Raper caught a short pass at the 2 but fell before he could reach the end zone, leaving no time for another play.

"It was a gamble," Lee said. "I was really trying to take a little pressure off my freshman kicker. ... He's been hurt and he's just been kicking a few days, so we tried to take some pressure off him by trying to gamble and go for it. Plus, we thought we could make it."

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

N.C. A&T 0 10 0 9 — 19
Winston-Salem State 0 10 0 0 — 10
N.C. A&T—FG Courtney 24
WSSU—FG Thayer 24
N.C. A&T—Fears 2 run (Courtney kick)
WSSU—Dunston 1 run (Thayer kick)
N.C. A&T—FG Courtney 25
N.C. A&T—Mayhew 1 run (kick failed)
A—22,000.

Stat ... N.C. A&T ... WSSU
First downs ... 15 ... 7
Rushes-yards ... 45-159 ... 35-33
Passing ... 130 ... 57
Comp-Att-Int ... 17-31-0 ... 7-22-0
Return yards ... 81 ... 14
Punts-Avg. ... 7-27.3 ... 9-39.7
Fumbles-Lost ... 3-0 ... 2-2
Penalties-Yards ... 9-74 ... 5-47
Time of possession ... 34:32 ... 25:28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
N.C. A&T—Fears 10-78, Payne 17-49, Mayhew 16-22, Raper 1-13, Team 1-(minus 3).
Winston-Salem State—McRae 7-35, Dunston 12-20, Hickman 5-12, J.Harris 3-4, Thayer 1-(minus 18), Williams 7-(minus 20).

PASSING
N.C. A&T—Fears 17-31-0-130.
Winston-Salem State—Williams 4-13-0-42, Dunston 3-9-0-15.

RECEIVING
N.C. A&T—Miles 6-42, Raper 3-25, Mayhew 2-26, Lowrance 2-17, Whitaker 2-12, Payne 2-8.
Winston-Salem State—J.Harris 2-22, Fitzgerald 2-14, Wynn 1-12, Kinzer 1-8, McRae 1-1.