news-record.com

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — For 30 minutes, N.C. A&T went toe-to-toe with MEAC football champion South Carolina State on Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

It was no contest in the second half.

The Aggies played the Bulldogs to a 7-7 draw in the first half, but the FCS playoff-bound hosts pulled away after intermission to close the regular season with a 28-10 win and a 10-1 record.

A&T finished with a 5-6 overall record and a 3-5 MEAC mark in Alonzo Lee's first season in charge. Not bad, considering the Aggies won only nine of 56 games from 2004 through 2008.

"I'm proud to be part of the senior class that had a part in turning things around this season," said defensive end Tyre Glasper. "It was a bittersweet way to end the season.

"We wanted to challenge for a championship and finish with a winning record. That didn't work out, but we did win five games this year after winning three games last year and none the year before. Now it's up to the guys coming back to keep this going."

Lee said the overwhelming youth in the program was something of a curse and a blessing.

"We got off to a great start, but hit some bumps in the road," he said. "We didn't quite get where we wanted to go this year, but our youth showed up at times during the season and we hit some bumps in the road. But I was really proud of the way our kids fought in the last two games against the best teams in our conference. The job now is to start building toward a championship, and that's going to be a seven-days-a-week challenge."

The Aggies scored first Saturday after an interception and a 48-yard return by Justin Ferrell put the offense in great position at the Bulldogs' 37-yard line during the first quarter.

A&T needed seven running plays to find the end zone. Tony Coles' 2-yard burst closed it out, but freshman quarterback Lewis Kendle did the heavy work, gaining 29 yards on four carries. The Aggies, however, never found the end zone again. The only other A&T points came on a 39-yard field goal by Wallace Miles at 5:04 of the third quarter.

The defense intercepted three passes by Malcolm Long, the MEAC pass-efficiency leader, but the Bulldogs' balanced attack still finished with 458 yards and 22 first downs.

Long was 18-of-31 passing for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Tre' Young had six catches for 123 yards and two scores. Will Ford, who had just 39 net yards at halftime, finished with 156 yards on 23 carries to become the all-time MEAC rushing leader.

"South Carolina State is a fantastic team, and I wish them well in the playoffs," Lee said.

Kindle, making his second consecutive start, had a rough day after a good start. He hit 19 of 32 passes, but averaged just 6.2 yards per completion and was sacked seven times.

The total offensive yield against the conference's top-ranked defense was 176 yards.

NOTES: Ferrell increased his MEAC-leading interceptions total to six. Jeremy Graham and Nick Clement had the other picks for A&T. ... Sophomore DB Quay Long led the Aggies with eight solo tackles.

N.C. A&T 7 0 3 0 — 10
South Carolina State 0 7 14 7 — 28

N.C. A&T—Coles 1 run (Miles kick)
S.C. State—Young 12 pass from Long (Erickson kick)
S.C. State—Young 49 pass from Long (Erickson kick)
S.C. State—Ford 18 run (Erickson kick)
N.C. A&T—FG Miles 39
S.C. State—Long 1 run (Erickson kick)
A—12,936

First downs — A&T 12, S.C. State 22
Rushes-Yards — A&T 34-58, S.C. State 35-236
Passing — A&T 118, S.C. State 222
Comp-Att-Int — A&T 19-32-1, S.C. State 18-31-3
Return yards — A&T 47, S.C. State 8
Punts-Avg. — A&T 8-42.4, S.C. State 4-32.8
Fumbles-Lost — A&T 0-0, S.C. State 0-0
Penalties-Yards — A&T 9-101, S.C. State 10-107
Time of possession — A&T 31:22, S.C. State 28:38

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
N.C. A&T — Mayhew 10-40, Coles 9-18, Raper 1-9, Kearney 1-1, Kindle 13-(minus 10).
S.C. State — Ford 23-156, Long 6-41, Jamison 4-24, Massey 1-10, Smalls 1-5.

PASSING
N.C. A&T — Kindle 19-32-1-118.
S.C. State, Long 18-31-3-222.

RECEIVING
N.C. A&T — Miles 8-66, Cooper 6-19, Raper 2-0, Thomas 1-24, Whitaker 1-7, Mayhew 1-2.
S.C. State — Young 6-123, M.Washington 3-29, Christie 3-7, Massey 2-23, T.Smith 1-24, Ford 1-10, Elmore 1-4, Jamison 1-2.