GREENSBORO – It was well worth the wait.

The football programs from North Carolina A&T and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) renewed their heated rivalry after a 14-year absence in the matchup, and it left room for many interesting discussions between the two sides' fanbases until the next game in the historic series occurs.

The Aggies needed a 31-yard field from junior Andrew Brown to send the game into overtime and a 16-yard touchdown run from Wesley Graves in OT before the Aggies were able to breathe easily with a 27-20 overtime win over their Division II foe at Truist Stadium on Saturday.

WSSU comes away believing it deserves more of the Aggies' attention for future games after giving their HBCU brethren to the east, a Division I-FCS institution, a bit of a scare. The Aggies come away knowing they need to make some immediate improvements as they prepare for their first Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) of the season when the University of Delaware Blue Hens visit Truist Stadium on Saturday.

"We've got a lot to fix," said A&T head coach Vincent Brown, who won for the first time at Truist Stadium as the Aggies head coach. "But as I said to our kids, enjoy the win because they're hard to come by, and we will work on the things we need to do to get ready to beat Delaware."

From the start, it appeared the Rams (1-1) didn't drive 30 miles to be an easy win for the Aggies. On the game's third play, WSSU defensive back Zaahir Choen intercepted a pass from A&T sophomore Kevin White and returned it 21 yards to the Aggies 35-yard line. Four plays later, the Rams had the ball in the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown run from Timothy Ruff, which gave the Rams a 6-0 lead after WSSU kicker Gilberto Lorenzana missed the extra point.

The Aggies quickly gathered themselves after the early turnover led to a score. A&T's 9-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 1-yard TD run from White followed WSSU's early score. Brown's extra point gave the Aggies the lead. The scoring drive became the first of 17 straight points by the Aggies as Brown connected on a 52-yard field goal as the first half expired and sophomore wideout Laquan Veney made a tough catch at the goal line from White with 3:29 remaining in the third quarter to give the Aggies a 17-6 lead.

Brown's 52-yard field goal tied a program record with two other Aggies. Yonnick Matthews connected on a 52-yard at Elon in 2003, and Noel Ruiz hit a game-winning 52-yarder against Elon in 2019. Brown is the first kicker in program history to have two career 50-yarders after he made a 51-yarder at Wake Forest last week.

"Having a strong and dependable kicker allows you to play the game and not feel like, oh, we've got to punch the ball in here because, ultimately, it's about producing points, whether it's three points, six points or seven points. Andrew is one of the better kickers in the conference, and that was on display today in our confidence in him to produce points."

That would prove true late in the game as the Rams scored on a 37-yard touchdown run from Trevon Hester with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter to send the Rams into the fourth quarter, trailing only by four, 17-13.

After WSSU's Travon McClain blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt from Brown, the Rams took the lead, orchestrating a 9-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard TD run from quarterback Dylin Lee to give WSSU a 20-17 advantage with 3:52 remaining in regulation.

But a very patient A&T offense came on the field after Lee's score, knowing they had the foot of Brown in their corner. The Aggies ran 15 plays, eight of them runs, to put Brown in position to hit his 31-yarder to send the game into overtime before Graves broke through a wide-open hole on the right side to score and give the Aggies the lead.

The resilient Rams had one last shot in their efforts to keep their upset hopes alive. But on 4th-and-goal from the Aggies 4, Lee rolled to his left. It appeared he might have tried to run in for the touchdown but instead threw a wobbly pass to an open Kaleb Washington. Lee's pass sailed behind Washington toward the back of the end zone, giving the Aggies the win.

Graves had his first 100-yard rushing game. He posted 106 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.

"I want our team to be a resilient, composed team that doesn't get too down on themselves," said Brown. "I've seen a lot of maturity in our team from last season to where we are now because I personally did not see a lot of the bickering and finger-pointing that typically happens when you're not performing up to expectations. The guys just kept playing and kept playing and kept playing until we got the win. And to me, that's a sign of maturity."