In the 102-year-old rivalry between the North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) football teams, this latest chapter was one that the Aggies would rather forget.
North Carolina A&T (1-3, 0-1 CAA) lost to the Eagles, 66-24, at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium, in the 96th meeting between the HBCU rivals on Saturday night that played out to a live national TV audience on ESPNU.

Both teams entered this weekend looking to avoid a 1-3 start to their respective seasons, adding additional weight to an already high-stakes matchup. But most of the good fortunes went to the Eagles, who put together their largest margin of victory in the series and scored the most single-game points by a team in series history.

The highlight of the game for the Aggies happened before any time ran off the clock, as A&T return man Aaron Haris took the game's opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The extra point from placekicker Andrew Brown was blocked, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Aggies.

The excitement wouldn't last, though, as A&T allowed the Eagles to score four touchdowns in four straight drives after that and gave up an additional touchdown due to a blocked punt. Second-year head coach Vincent Brown said that his team made far too many mistakes, which allowed NCCU to pull away early.

"We've got a lot to fix," Brown said. "That was not indicative of who we are, what we can be, and what we want to be."

In their first drive, the Eagles offense engineered an 8-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Walker Harris to senior Joaquin Davis. Twenty-two rushing yards from Eagles running back J'Mari Taylor and two costly defensive penalties set the stage for the touchdown play.

On A&T's next drive, bruising running back Kenji Christian found a hole and sprinted down the left sideline for a 48-yard gain. The massive run put the Aggies on the NCCU 13-yard line, but the Eagles defense contained the offense after that, limiting A&T to a 27-yard field goal from junior Andrew Brown. Not long after, Taylor came up big again for the Eagles, breaking away from the defense and tearing down the middle of the field for a 66-yard touchdown. The explosive play put the Eagles ahead 14-9.

After the Aggies went 3-and-out on the next drive, N.C. Central scored off another play of at least 60 yards. This time, Harris found sophomore receiver Markell Quick over the middle on a slant route for a 60-yard touchdown. The subsequent two-point conversion attempt failed.

Another misfortune for the Aggies occurred when starting quarterback Kevin White sustained an injury on a keeper late in the first quarter. Graduate transfer Justin Fomby replaced him but couldn't reach the first down marker. A&T lined up to punt from its end zone, but the Eagles blocked and recovered the punt for a touchdown. The extra point was good to make the score 27-9 early in the second quarter.

Taylor and Harris would run in two more touchdowns before the end of the first half. A beautifully thrown 53-yard pass from Fomby to Aggies receiver Jamison Warren set A&T up for a 36-yard field goal that would be the team's only second-quarter points. Fomby aired the ball out downfield several times on the half's final drive but eventually threw an interception under pressure with just seconds left on the clock. The Aggies ended the first half down 40-12. The A&T offense produced 157 total yards in the first half, but most of that yardage came from a few big plays rather than sustained drives.

Shortly after an NCCU touchdown to open the second half, the Aggies put together their best drive of the night — 14 plays of mostly short passes from Fomby. The drive was highlighted by a 26-yard catch and run play to sophomore Shimique Blizzard which converted a fourth down and set up a three-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown. The Aggies went for two points but failed to convert. Although the game was likely out of reach by that point, the drive showcased some of Fomby's strengths. 

"He's a very mature player," Brown said about the graduate transfer out of Houston Christian. "He's seen a lot of football."

Freshman quarterback Braxton Thomas also saw action on Saturday. However, Thomas later left the game after being walloped on a scramble play, and Fomby returned to finish the drive, which ended in a touchdown from Blizzard. Brown said that he believes Thomas will avoid missing any time due to injury but couldn't give any immediate updates on the status of White or Fomby.

The Aggies will aim to recuperate before next weekend's matchup against another old-school HBCU rival, the South Carolina State University (SCSU) Bulldogs. "The only chance we stand is if we stay together," Brown said. "If we let the adversity that we experienced tonight impact us the rest of the season, then it's going to be a long 2024."