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WASHINGTON -- Wallace Miles has been a big part of the N.C. A&T offense all season.

In the first seven games of the season, the wide receiver from Atlanta leads the Aggies in catches with 23 and touchdown receptions with three.

On a rainy day in the nation's capital, Miles added a new weapon to his offensive arsenal: the redshirt sophomore made the first field goal of his college career, a 32-yarder in the third quarter Saturday at Howard, to give the Aggies a 17-13 lead.

About 6 minutes earlier the second of his four PATs, also the first of his college career, put A&T (5-3, 3-2) ahead for good in a 30-19 comeback victory in MEAC play.

"We said he had to do it. He was fired up and ready to go," A&T coach Alonzo Lee, a former Howard assistant who graduated from nearby Dunbar High in Washington, said of Miles' double duty as kicker.

Miles did some kicking in high school and seems to have taken the spot from Patrick Courtney.

"We left too many points on the field," Lee said.

Freshman Dontavious Payne ran 21 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns, Mike Mayhew also ran for two scores, and quarterback Carlton Fears completed 9 of 22 passes, three to Miles.

A&T had not won at Howard since 1998. A&T beat the Bison 21-20 last year to snap a 25-game losing streak against MEAC teams.

Miles missed a 47-yard field goal wide left as the first half ended with his team trailing, 13-7.

"They told me it was a foot off," Miles said. "It wasn't a whole lot of pressure. I felt I did pretty good. I wanted to get some points on the board."

Howard (2-5, 0-4) had 18 first downs (the Aggies had nine) but came up short several times inside the red zone.

"We have struggled all year offensively," Howard coach Carey Bailey said. "We are just not making plays."

After Howard punter Patrick Wolff illegally punted a bad snap off the ground, the Aggies took over on the Bison 5. Payne ran in for a touchdown on the first play and Miles hit the PAT to make it 24-13 early in the fourth quarter.

"Muffed punts destroyed us," Carey Bailey said. "They had short field opportunities in the second half."

A 32-yard touchdown pass by Howard's Floyd Haigler to Willie Carter made it 24-19 with 4:37 left in the game. But Mayhew ran 45 yards for a score on the next possession to account for the final score with 4:26 left.

Howard took a 7-0 lead with 8:05 left in the first quarter on a 7-yard run by freshman Andra Williams. The score came after Howard's Ian Simon recovered a fumble on a botched quarterback option. The Bison then went 50 yards in six plays.

The Aggies, who had 108 yards of offense and five first downs in the first half, tied the game at 7 after taking over on their 20 following a Howard punt. Payne ran 40 yards to the Howard 8, and two plays later Mayhew went 5 yards on a run for a score.

Howard took a 10-7 lead late in the first half on a 30-yard field goal by Dennis Wiehberg after the Aggies defense kept the Bison out of the end zone from the 12.

After A&T punted to Howard, the Bison drove 44 yards to the Aggies' 15 before the drive stalled. Wiehberg then booted a 33-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the half to make it 13-7.

"We came out flat, which allowed them to run the ball," A&T cornerback Justin Ferrell said. "We just buckled down in the second half."

A&T recovered the kickoff at the Howard 42 to start the second half. The Aggies went six plays for a touchdown, as Payne went over from the 2. The PAT by Miles gave the Aggies a 14-13 lead.

Miles made a 32-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the third quarter to give the Aggies a 17-13 lead.

"Our offense really stepped up. We decided to go with what worked," Lee said.

N.C. A&T 0 7 10 13 -- 30

Howard 7 6 0 6 -- 19

How--A.Williams 7 run (Wiehberg kick)

NCAT--Mayhew 5 run (Miles kick)

How--FG Wiehberg 30

How--FG Wiehberg 33

NCAT--Payne 2 run (Miles kick)

NCAT--FG Miles 32

NCAT--Payne 5 run (Miles kick)

How--W.Carter 32 pass from Haigler (pass failed)

NCAT--Mayhew 45 run (kick failed)

A--7,086.

N.C. A&T Howard

First downs 9 18

Rushes-yards 41-169 44-87

Passing 85 191

Comp-Att-Int 9-22-0 14-35-2

Return Yards 20 46

Punts-Avg. 10-39.8 7-33.3

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-Yards 6-54 4-60

Time of Possession 30:09 29:51

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--N. C. A&T, Payne 21-113, Mayhew 4-54, Coles 5-18, Raper 1-3, Team 2-(minus 1), Fears 8-(minus 18). Howard, A.Williams 17-76, Haigler 17-30, Drayton 3-20, Sherman 1-8, Brice 4-(minus 4), Team 2-(minus 43).

PASSING--N.C. A&T, Fears 9-22-0-85. Howard, Haigler 14-34-2-191, W.Carter 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--N. C. A&T, Miles 3-33, Lowrance 2-25, Payne 2-5, Whitaker 1-15, Kearney 1-7. Howard, W.Carter 6-84, Sherman 3-53, Drayton 2-20, Brice 1-14, A.Williams 1-11, Hayes 1-9.