news-record.com

BALTIMORE — Morgan State tried very hard to give Saturday's game to N.C. A&T, but the Aggies couldn't take it.

The Bears made a number of mistakes that led to several A&T scoring chances. But the Aggies couldn't convert on most of them, making their own ill-timed miscues that proved costly as Morgan State held on for a 7-6 MEAC victory before a crowd of 12,045 at Hughes Stadium.

Morgan State (4-1, 2-0 MEAC) committed five turnovers, but the Aggies (3-3, 1-2) could score only six points from them. In addition, A&T moved the ball to the 50 or into Bears territory on nine of its 14 possessions, but the Aggies couldn't cash in.

"We had every opportunity to take the game and put it away, and we just didn't step up to the mike," said A&T coach Alonzo Lee. "We've just got to find a way, when we get in that red zone, to get in the end zone. That's the bottom line."

The Aggies hurt their cause with a variety of mistakes at the wrong times. Kicker Patrick Courtney missed two first-half field-goal attempts, and then saw his potential tying extra-point kick blocked in the third quarter.

A&T made two more miscues on fourth-quarter drives. The Aggies moved to the 15 early in the period before they were called for holding. Then, quarterback Carlton Fears' pass was deflected into the air. Fears caught the ball instead of knocking it down and lost 15 yards, pushing the Aggies out of field-goal range.

A&T moved into Morgan State territory again on its final drive. The Aggies had third-and-seven from the 25, but Fears fell while rolling out. Wallace Miles took over as the kicker, but the Aggies needed to rush on to the field as they were out of timeouts, and his 51-yard attempt fell well short as time expired.

"It's very tough to swallow this one," Fears said. "We had plenty of chances and just didn't come out and just didn't make the plays when the time called for it."

A&T certainly had chances, especially in a first half that surprisingly ended with Morgan State on top, 7-0. The Aggies got to midfield or into Bears territory six times — and came up empty every time.

A&T also couldn't convert on two fourth-down plays, and Courtney missed two field-goal attempts. He was hurried and pulled a 32-yarder left in the first quarter and sent a 38-yard kick wide right in the second period.

Forcing three turnovers before halftime with a solid defense didn't even help the Aggies, but neither did ill-timed penalties. A&T appeared to score a touchdown on Justin Farrell's 103-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, but a penalty on the Aggies wiped out the play.

A&T finally got on the board when Tony Coles scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:03 left in the third quarter after a punt hit a Morgan State player and gave them the ball at the 11. But Fred Davis blocked the extra-point kick, and that turned out to be the difference.

Lee was the defensive coordinator at Morgan State last year and worked with Bears coach Donald Hill-Eley for years, and both coaches kept things conservative.

"When you've been together for 15 or 20 years, they know your tendencies," Hill-Eley said. "It's very difficult because there's only so much you can do. It was a chess match."

But the Aggies, who will win by forfeit next week when they were originally scheduled to play Delaware State, get a break. Lee likes where his team is at, but hopes the Aggies learn how to win sooner rather than later.

"We are miles away from where we were, but we've got miles to go," Lee said. "We are way farther than we should be at this point, but we've got to learn how to put the nail in the coffin."

N. C. A&T 0 0 6 0 — 6
Morgan St. 7 0 0 0 — 7

Morgan St.—James 7 run (Scarlett kick), :24.
N.C. A&T—Coles 1 run (kick failed)
A—12,045.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs — A&T 16, MSU 6
Rushes-Yards — A&T 40-130, MSU 30-123
Passing — A&T 133, MSU 101
Comp-Att-Int — A&T 18-34-1, MSU 9-15-2
Return yards — A&T 13, MSU 31
Punts-Avg. — A&T 7-37.6, MSU 6-31.0
Fumbles-Lost — A&T 1-0, MSU 3-3
Penalties-Yards — A&T 5-78, MSU 5-66
Time of possession — A&T 35:34, MSU 24:26

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
N.C. A&T — Fears 16-50, Payne 11-45, Mayhew 10-26, Raper 2-8, Coles 1-1.
Morgan State — James 19-81, Jackson 4-30, D.West 3-9, Mann 2-8, Team 2-(minus 5).

PASSING
N.C. A&T — Fears 18-34-1-133.
Morgan State — Jackson 9-14-1-101, Dickerson 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING
N.C. A&T — Miles 7-84, Mayhew 5-21, Lowrance 2-24, Raper 2-8, Payne 1-11, Fears 1-(minus 15).
Morgan State — Cherenfant 3-15, Bryant 2-65, Diggs 2-11, Baptiste 2-10.