INDIANAPOLIS - The hope for the North Carolina A&T football team lies in the chow line.
At the 27th annual Circle City Classic played at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night, the Aggies slipped to 0-5 on the season with a 37-7 loss to Tennessee State. Saturday's game marked the first time in four tries N.C. A&T was defeated in the Circle City Classic.
But even as the season reaches the halfway point, coach Lee sees a football team in a growing pains stage.
"When I call my sophomores to eat before the game, half the room moves,'' said Lee. "When I call my freshmen, the other half of the room moves. Our future is coming. It is just a matter of being patient and staying the course."
Tennessee State just happens to be one of those teams you do not want to face when you're growing up in the field of battle. The Tigers possess an offensive line that averages 6-foot-4, 308-pounds in size. The big men upfront helped the Tigers rush for 379 yards. TSU running backs Dante' Thomas and Preston Brown benefited from the holes opened by the Tigers O-Line.
Thomas rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, while Brown added 145 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries.
"We got exposed today upfront with our young talent (on the defensive line)," said Lee.
Despite the size differential, the Aggies defense had its moments. With the Tigers winning the field position battle early, the N.C. A&T defense kept the Tigers off the board by stuffing Thomas and a 4th-and-1 from the Aggies 14-yard line in the first quarter.
On the Tigers next drive, however, the Aggies couldn't overcome TSU's great field position as a 24-yard run by Brown was the highlight in a 6-play, 48-yard drive that gave TSU a 10-0 advantage.
N.C. A&T's fortunes changed in the second quarter. In what had to be one of the more impressive drives of the season, the Aggies used an effective no-huddle offense to move down the field. A key 3rd-and-10 conversion saw fifth-year senior Shelton Morgan find an open Wallace Miles down the sideline for a 24-yard gain.
Junior running back Mike Mayhew did the rest. His 12-yard run set up his gritty 13-yard touchdown run that saw him carry a multitude of Tigers into the end zone with him for his fourth touchdown of the season. Mayhew put together his third straight 100-yard rushing day as he finished with 114 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
The Tigers would answer Mayhew's score as a 51-yard run by Thomas led to a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jeremy Perry to Johnta Gleaves. The score gave the Tigers a 17-7 lead at the half.
The Tigers started to blow the game open four minutes into the second half. Eugene Clifford intercepted a Shelton Morgan pass and returned it the N.C. A&T 40-yard line. Three plays later Thomas had the ball in the end zone on a 23-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a 24-7 lead.
Tennessee State (3-2) added another score toward the end of the third quarter as quarterback Jeremy Perry's 27-yard run set up a 1-yard touchdown by Thomas.
On the flip side, the Aggies had another tough game offensively. Morgan completed just 9 of his 31 passes for 76 yards. The Aggies failed to complete a pass in the second half, and turned the ball over twice.
"Our biggest trouble is getting the ball down the field with the pass,'' said Lee. "We can run it, but people are going to continue to stack up the line against us. We simply have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot offensively."
The Aggies' hunger for a victory finally comes home as the Aggies face Morgan State for homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 1:30 p.m., from Aggie Stadium. It will be the Aggies first home game in four weeks.
"It doesn't matter whose homecoming it is. We need a victory,'' said Lee.
