GREENSBORO –On Saturday, the North Carolina A&T football team lost to the University Delaware Blue Hens, 42-13 at Truist Stadium. It marked the Aggies' first Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference game of 2024, with the outcome serving as a disappointment for an Aggies program still searching for its first conference win since joining the CAA Football Conference in 2023.
The Aggies dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in CAA Football Conference play as Mack David II finished with a career-high 13 tackles. The Blue Hens got 325 yards passing and a touchdown from Ryan O'Connor to improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
A&T will have a chance to reset with non-conference opponents these next two weeks, including next week when they travel to historic rival North Carolina Central University (NCCU) for a 6 p.m. showdown at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.
"We'll go back to the drawing board, and we'll get ready for a very, very big rivalry game next week," A&T head coach Vincent Brown said.
The Aggies defense kept the Blue Hens at bay for the first three plays of the game before the Blue Hens made a surprising move 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Delaware attempted a 4th-and-2 from its 33-yard line, and running back Marcus Yarns converted the fourth down with a clutch three-yard run to keep the opening drive alive.
After the risky decision, Yarns ripped off a 23-yard run, and quarterback Ryan O'Connor completed two passes of 15-plus yards to advance into the red zone. Yarns scored the game's first touchdown with a 3-yard rush, but placekicker Nate Reed missed the extra point to give Delaware a 6-0 lead.
The Aggies offense played without explosive running back junior Kenji Christian and veteran center Cesar Minarro. But A&T's offense seemed unphased early. Sophomore quarterback Kevin White connected with redshirt junior Ger-Cari Caldwell for a first down on A&T's first drive of the game. The promising start didn't lead to a score.
O'Connor and the Blue Hens took over on their own 11, and O'Connor completed three passes of 13 yards or more to set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Jo'Nathan Silver. Delaware failed on a two-point conversion attempt to make the score 12-0.
On the Aggies' next drive, White completed a 6-yard pass to running back Wesley Graves and two passes to Jayvonne Dillard to advance to the Delaware 45-yard line. Delaware was then called for a personal foul, moving the Aggies forward to the 29-yard line. Two plays later, an offside call on the Blue Hens advanced A&T another five yards. Aggies placekicker Andrew Brown eventually nailed a 42-yard field goal, putting A&T on the board and cutting Delaware's lead to 12-3.
Delaware's offense put together another drive after A&T's first score. The Blue Hens turned a dump-off pass to Ja'Carree Kelly into a 29-yard gain and had two 12-yard carries in a drive that ended with a 1-yard Quincy Watson touchdown run. Delaware's special teams woes continued as A&T blocked the extra point attempt to limit the deficit to 15 points.
A&T had its moments in the first half. Dillard, who had a career-best five receptions for 71 yards, had a catch of 19 yards and 17 yards, respectively, on A&T's next drive, but an A&T fumble stalled the drive at the Delaware 26. Undeterred, the Aggies continued to mount their comeback attempt.
Under pressure in the second quarter, O'Connor rolled out to the left and aired the ball out downfield. The pass missed intended receiver Jake Thaw, and Harris tracked it down for the pick and streaked down the right sideline to the opposite end zone for a 70-yard INT return. It marked the first pick-6 of his career and cut the Blue Hens lead to 18-10.
After a Blue Hens field goal, White completed three passes of 10 yards or more as A&T put together a 5-play, 50-yard drive in 43 seconds. Brown nailed a field goal for the second consecutive week as time expired in the first half. Brown's 42-yarder sent A&T into the halftime break down only 21-13.
"For a while there, I thought we were doing okay," Brown said. "Coming out of halftime, I thought we were right there. We had the first possession (of the second half). We were down one score. We were right where we wanted to be. But we have to learn how to capitalize and build on the things we are doing successfully.
A&T did not capitalize on having the second half's first possession. O'Connor led the Blue Hens on a 10-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by his 23-yard scramble to the right side of the field to score. After another quick A&T possession, the Blue Hens traveled 88 yards on 12 plays to score on a 17-yard run by Watson to give the Blue Hens a comfortable 35-13 advantage.
Delaware scored one final touchdown as they outgained A&T 526-264 in total offense. The Aggies came into the game averaging 235 yards rushing per game, but without Christian, they managed only 74. White completed 14 passes in 25 attempts for 145 yards.
"We have to produce points, and today we didn't do enough to produce enough points to win the game," Brown said. "So as we go back and self-scout and look at what we're calling and what we're doing best on down and distance situations and field position, it will help us to craft a plan to try to score going into next week's game.
