news-record.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Turnovers gave N.C. A&T a chance to defeat Florida A&M.

The Aggies returned the favor.

Two fumbles, an interception and a missed extra point hurt N.C. A&T as the Rattlers held on for a 31-27 victory on Saturday in MEAC football at Bragg Memorial Stadium.

N.C. A&T (5-5, 3-4 MEAC) still had a final shot to pull off the upset, using a fake punt to extend the drive and push farther into FAMU territory. But the Aggies' Dontavious Payne, who graduated from Tallahassee's FAMU High School and played his home games at Bragg Stadium, was stopped on fourth-and-2 at the Rattlers' 22.

Aggies coach Alonzo Lee said he thought Payne was close to a first down.

"We didn't get a measurement," Lee said. "It was a situation where I was crying and hollering for a measurement — but they couldn't because they had already moved the sticks."

Freshman quarterback Lewis Kindle was solid early, tossing two touchdown passes and running for another as N.C. A&T took a 21-17 halftime lead.

The Aggies capitalized on two FAMU fumbles to score touchdowns 24 seconds apart. Kindle connected with Brett Fisher for a 22-yard touchdown with 6:19 left in the second quarter, and moments later he found Terrence Whitaker for a 23-yard touchdown.

Kindle completed 16 of 30 passes for 206 yards. He said A&T anticipated that FAMU's front four would bring pressure and he just tried to keep his composure.

"It didn't rattle me," Kindle said. "I just had to step up in the pocket and throw."

But the Aggies turned over the ball three times in the second half and lost for the third time in four games. They have not won in Tallahassee since 2000.

"Turnovers kind of bit us in the second half," Lee said. "I think we did some great things offensively. We just have to go back to the drawing board."

A&T recovered five fumbles, but still gave up 31 points for the second straight week.

After a bye week, the Aggies finish the regular season at S.C. State on Nov. 21.

FAMU (7-2, 5-1) won for the fifth straight time in the series.

Quarterback Curtis Pulley threw for a touchdown and ran for a score, but left the game in the third quarter when he suffered a groin injury.

Pulley and Philip Sylvester combined for 150 of FAMU's 191 yards rushing.

The teams fumbled three times in a two-minute stretch — first the Aggies, then the Rattlers and finally the Aggies again — in the third quarter. FAMU made A&T pay, as Sylvester took the handoff and raced 40 yards untouched for a touchdown as the Rattlers went up 24-21 with 6:44 left in the quarter.

LeRoy Vann extended FAMU's lead to 31-21 with 2:51 left in the third quarter with a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown. It was Vann's fifth punt return for a score this year, tying the FCS single-season record.

The game held special meaning for Lee, who was an assistant coach at FAMU from 1990-96. He played at Eastern Illinois in the late 1970s under assistant coach Joe Taylor — who is now FAMU's head coach. Lee also was the defensive coordinator on Taylor's staff at Hampton when the Pirates won a pair of MEAC titles.

"He's the first guy I recruited at the college level," Taylor joked. "And now he's going to give me a heart attack. That's the thanks I get."

N.C. A&T 7 14 0 6 — 27
Florida A&M 7 10 14 0 — 31

FAMU—Elliott 16 pass from Pulley (T.Scott kick)
A&T—Kindle 7 run (Miles kick)
FAMU—Pulley 22 run (T.Scott kick)
FAMU—FG T.Scott 31
A&T—Fisher 22 pass from Kindle (Miles kick)
A&T—Whitaker 23 pass from Kindle (Miles kick)
FAMU—Sylvester 40 run (T.Scott kick)
FAMU—Vann 51 punt return (T.Scott kick)
A&T—Payne 8 run (kick failed)
A—8,034

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs — NCAT 16, FAMU 21
Rushes-yards — NCAT 43-156, FAMU 26-191
Passing — NCAT 206, FAMU 176
Comp-Att-Int — NCAT 16-30-1, FAMU 12-29-1
Return Yards — NCAT 0, FAMU 125
Punts-Avg. — NCAT 7-33.7, FAMU 2-27.5
Fumbles-Lost — NCAT 4-2, FAMU 5-5
Penalties-Yards — NCAT 13-108, FAMU 5-78
Time of Possession — NCAT 38:50, FAMU 21:10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
N.C. A&T — Payne 22-59, Kindle 11-54, Mayhew 7-23, J.Graham 1-16, Coles 2-3, Fisher 0-1.
Florida A&M — Pulley 7-79, Sylvester 13-71, Vann 2-27, Battle 2-18, Rocker 1-(minus 2), Team 1-(minus 2).

PASSING
N.C. A&T — Kindle 16-30-1-206.
Florida A&M — Pulley 9-17-0-145, Battle 3-12-1-31.

RECEIVING
N.C. A&T — Miles 7-82, Cooper 5-54, Whitaker 1-23, Fisher 1-22, Thomas 1-21, Payne 1-4.
Florida A&M — West 6-111, Elliott 3-30, Knight 1-21, Benson 1-16, A.Smith 1-(minus 2).