MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Robert Morris University (RMU) came into Saturday's game at Joe Walton Stadium winless in six tries. The Colonials first two Big South Conference opponents won in blowouts, and they were still unsettled at the quarterback position.
North Carolina A&T did want to be their source of inspiration. Aggies head football coach
Sam Washington wanted to get out to a big lead early to eliminate that possibility. His team responded.
The Aggies compiled 352 yards of offense in the first half on their way to a 38-14 win over the Colonials in Big South play. A&T (4-3, 2-0 Big South) won its fourth straight game. RMU (0-7, 0-3) is still in search of its first win after being outscored in conference play 127-24. The Aggies led 30-0 at halftime.
"I thought we came on fire," said Washington. "We did a lot of things well, early. "I also liked the fact that we didn't have a lot of penalties early."
The Aggies had only one first-quarter penalty, which allowed for multiple big plays. A&T took their opening drive 75 yards in 11 plays, taking 5 ½ minutes off the clock to take a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard TD reception by
Zach Leslie from quarterback
Jalen Fowler.
Leslie and Fowler, the two A&T graduates, struck again eight minutes later in the first quarter when they took advantage of the A&T defense forcing the Colonials to punt from its 1-yard line. After RMU punted the ball 48 yads, freshman
Amonte Jones returned it 17 yards to the RMU 32.
On the first play of A&T's drive, Fowler went over the top and found Leslie racing down the sideline. Leslie leaped over his defender and took in the grab for his second TD reception of the quarter. It marked the fourth time in his career he had a two-touchdown game. Sophomore kicker
Andrew Brown would miss the extra point, leaving the score at 13-0.
Brown did connect on a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter before Fowler threw two more touchdown passes. Midway through the second quarter, Fowler bought himself some time in the pocket with some nifty footwork to escape the RMU rush. He then found sophomore running back Bhaysul Tuten running across the field and connected with him at the RMU 43. Tuten did the rest on the catch and run to give the Aggies a 23-0 lead with 6:59 to play in the first half.
Four minutes later, Fowler threw a beautiful over the shoulder bomb to sophomore
Sterling Berkhalter that landed comfortably on his right bicep to give the Aggies the big halftime lead. Fowler finish the day with career highs in passing yards (297) and touchdown passes (4). He was 19-for-30 through the air without an interception.
"He continues to play poised. We put a lot of emphasis on protecting the football, and I thought he did a terrific job of that," said Washington. "On his pre and post snap reads, I thought his eyes were in the right place most of the game."
There are some improvements Washington wants to see before the Aggies homecoming game against Campbell at Truist Stadium. RMU outscored the Aggies 14-8 in the second half by rushing for 108 yards. The Aggies also compiled more penalty yards in the second half. The Aggies did not have a penalty in the first half, but had nine penalties for 90 yards over the final three quarters, including 60 penalty yards in the second half.
"They're good at making adjustments, so I knew they would come at us with something good," said Washington. "What I was disappointed in was our effort, mistakes and the penalties. A lot of problems in the second half were self-inflicted. They made a couple of adjustments because that's what we do as coaches. But we've gave them second and third opportunities when we should have already been off the field."
After the game, Washington looked at his watch and said his team has 30 or 40 more minutes to celebrate the win over RMU before focusing on the Fighting Camels. Both teams will come into the game 2-0 in the Big South.
"Once we get on the plane, and certainly once we land in Greensboro, it's about protecting our homefield and winning homecoming."
