GREENSBORO – Six North Carolina A&T football players had the flu leading up to the Norfolk State game on Saturday. On their first drive Saturday, the Spartans drove the ball 68 yards in four plays for a touchdown. And with the game hanging in the balance, the Spartans had the ball first-and-goal from the Aggies 6-yard line.

It's what N.C. A&T head coach Alonzo Lee has been waiting for. Not that he likes to see his players sick or prefers to see teams score at will, but he sure likes to see how his men handle adversity.

They handled it with grit and precision against the Spartans. They also handled it with a defense that didn't allow a point over the final 44 minutes of the game to earn a 17-13 win at Aggie Stadium. The win gives the Aggies their first 1-0 start in the MEAC in four years. Their last 1-0 start came at the expense of NSU.  

“I thought early on we had a tough time adjusting to the speed of the game'' said Lee. “And then I thought we came out and played like we won last week. (Norfolk State) came out with absolute vengeance.

I told those guys this is what I have been looking forward to. How are we going to react when your backs are up against the wall? The test of a true man is how you react when your back is up against the wall, and our backs were definitely against the wall.”

The Aggies overcame a slow start and a 13-3 deficit to take a 17-13 lead to open the second half. Sophomore running back Mike Mayhew carried the ball on all five plays of the Aggies 61-yard scoring drive that was aided by a five-yard Norfolk State penalty.

“My linemen did the work for me'' said Mayhew, who finished with 87 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. “They really took charge on that drive. All I had to do was get to the hole and stay on my feet.”

Although Mayhew's score ended up being the game-winning touchdown, the Spartans were not above seriously threatening to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

A 29-yard run by DeAngelo Branch and a 9-yard run by quarterback Dennis Brown gave the Spartans the ball at the Aggie 6 with just over 11 minutes to play. Three plays later, the Spartans faced a 4^th-and-goal from the 1. Brown tried to take the lead with a quarterback sneak, but the Aggies defense led by middle linebacker Brandon Jackson stopped Brown's progress before he could cross the goal line.

“God is good,'' said Lee. “We had six guys this week with 103 degree temperature. Brandon was one of those kids with the flu. But those men did what they needed to do to rebound and they played well.”

Lee said he wanted to pinch his interior defensive lineman, while having two guys coming off the edge to guard against NSU using the agile Brown on a quarterback rollout. NSU head coach Pete Adrian said he wanted to sneak Brown underneath to combat the Aggie players going over the top.

“If he gets in then it's a great call down there,'' said Adrian. “I really thought we had a lot of missed opportunities tonight. I thought there were three or four penalties that really set us back.”

Adrian's Spartans had one last drive to mount. NSU gave the Aggies cause for concern when Brown completed 10-yard out to Chris Bell on a 4^th-and-8 from the Aggies 42. But the Aggies defense stiffened from there, allowing the Spartans just one yard over the next four plays. With no timeouts remaining for the Spartans, the game essentially ended when Aggies defensive end Tyre Glasper forced Brown to rush his throw to Jeremy Wicker for an incomplete pass.

“Defense is a team effort,'' said Glasper, who had seven tackles, 1.5 for loss, a sack, a blocked kick and five quarterback hurries. “As long as everyone reads their keys and we compose ourselves when it things get tight, we're going to be a good football team.”

Glasper's extra point block in the first half may have changed the complexion of the game considering the Spartans couldn't settle for a field goal late in the game. His block came after Bell gave the Spartans a 13-3 with a touchdown reception from Brown.

But the game really made a turn when sophomore cornerback Quay Long intercepted a Brown pass and returned it 40 yards to the Spartans 20-yard line. Two plays later, Aggies quarterback Carlton Fears found sophomore receiver Wallace Miles going across the middle of the field. Miles did the rest with an excellent sprint to the end zone to cut the Spartans lead to 13-10 just before the half.

“That is when the pendulum started to swing,'' said Lee. “It's hard to get it back once that momentum starts the swing.”

Brown led the Spartans. He had 87 yards rushing and a touchdown on 15 carries. He also passed for 145 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 12-for-25 passing. The Aggies (2-0) certainly have things swinging in their favor. They will try to keep it going when they face Hampton at Aggie Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised tape-delayed on ESPNU.