The North Carolina A&T football team began their quest for a Big South Conference title on Saturday night, defeating the Bryant Bulldogs, 24-13, under the lights of Truist Stadium.
"The ball game was a little more exciting than I wanted it to be," said A&T coach Sam Washington. "I thought we started out very fast with some good things going in our favor. As the game went on, Bryant did a very good job of adjusting and putting eight in the box at the right time. We were having some difficulty moving the football. Defensively we had four picks that were very important to our success today. It was really a character win for us because it could have gone either way. I thought we hung in there and fought. We stayed together and unified, and we finished a complete ballgame."
The Aggies (2-3, 1-0 Big South) got off to a fiery start offensively, scoring touchdowns on two of their first three drives to go up 14-0 after the first quarter. Sophomore tailback Bhayshul Tuten capped both touchdown drives with short TD runs. He completed his day with 114 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, going over 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game. His three receptions for 32 yards gave him 146 all-purpose yards.
"It's a coach's dream," Washington said about the effectiveness of the Aggies running game. "It is so satisfying and then to run the ball and they can't stop it, that gives me such a joy. It's a joy for a coach and a player when you are able to run the ball directly at a team. Everyone knows you are going to run the ball and you can't stop it."
Graduate quarterback Jalen Fowler, who had started the game and captained both scoring drives in the first quarter, was replaced by redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Yeager. Yeager threw for 16 yards on 3-for-5 passing. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs started to find their footing on offense.
Bryant got on the board with an 18-yard field goal from Ethan Gettman to make it a 14-3 game, grabbing some momentum going into the half. That momentum resulted in the Bulldogs opening the second half by returning the opening kickoff to the A&T 44-yard line. They proceeded to execute a seven-play, 44-yard methodical touchdown drive capped by a 15-yard scamper from Ishod Byarm.
Bryant made it a one-point game with another Gettman field goal before Aggie sophomore kicker Andrew Brown extended the cushion back to four with 1:50 remaining in the third with a 37-yarder of his own.
The turning point and play of the game came on the ensuing Bulldog drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus dropped back to pass but was immediately greeted by Aggie graduate defensive end Jermaine McDaniel. McDaniel smacked Eckhaus' arm as he tried to throw, and fellow A&T defensive end Jannoris Robertson secured the interception in plus territory.
That was the story of the second half. The INT was one of four Bulldog turnovers on the night, all on Eckhaus interceptions. Redshirt sophomore defensive back Karon Prunty had two picks, marking his first two interceptions as an Aggie after transferring from Kansas University.
On the next play after the Robertson pick, Fowler threw a jump ball to wide receiver Sterling Berkhalter for a touchdown to put the game away, 24-13.
The Aggies outgained Bryant 307-251 in total yardage, including a 181-38 advantage on the ground. That ground game dominance also led to dominance in time of possession, as A&T held the ball for 37:19.
"We can run the ball against anyone, and I think if you can run the ball, then you can control the clock," said Washington. "You can do a lot of things if you can run the ball, and we were able to run the ball, and they were not."
