GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T went seven quarterbacks into its depth chart to win its first-ever Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference game with a jaw-dropping 33-30 double overtime win over the Hampton Pirates Saturday night in front of an impressive crowd at Truist Stadium.
The Aggies overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 107 seconds of regulation to tie the game at 20-20 before winning on a five-yard touchdown run by graduate running back Wesley Graves.
"I was happy to see all the joy on the faces of these guys," said A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs, who secured his first win as the headman at A&T. "They haven't won in a long time. These guys have been through a lot. A lot of people doubted them. But they don't give up."
How the Aggies got to their first CAA Football Conference win, Gibbs' first win as A&T's head coach, their first win over a Division I-FCS opponent in two years, and their first win in 12 tries with their seventh-string quarterback behind center is a remarkable one.
Redshirt sophomore Kevin White and graduate Alston Hooker were both hurt in the offseason and remain on the sideline. A week ago, the Aggies had three quarterbacks injured in redshirt freshman Braxton Thomas, redshirt sophomore Champ Long and freshman Jy Walls, with Walls' injury putting him out for the season.
Those occurrences put freshman quarterback Nelson Layne in the spotlight. He earned the start on Saturday versus the Pirates. Layne completed 8 of 10 passes for 69 yards in the first half but endured a hit that forced his helmet off. For precautionary reasons, the Aggies decided not to play him in the second half, leaving the signal-calling duties to Noah Sanders, a University of Delaware transfer who played a few snaps for the Aggies last season.
"We brought seven quarterbacks to camp, and today we played our sixth and seventh quarterbacks," said Gibbs. "Noah came in and did a good job and led us down the field. I can't tell you how proud I am. These kids are just fighters."
After going into the half tied 10-10, Hampton scored on its first drive of the second half thanks to a 2-yard TD run from quarterback Isaiah Freeman. Freeman caused A&T problems on the ground throughout the night, rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown on 20 attempts. He also threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 12-for-24 passing.
The Pirates added a 33-yard field goal from Brett Starling in the fourth quarter with 10:12 remaining to take a 20-10 lead. Meanwhile, A&T's offense had difficulty getting jump-started in the second half. A&T had 36 yards of total offense in the second half when they took over the football at its own 18-yard line with 1:47 remaining in the game.
From there, amazing things happened. On 3rd-and-10 from the A&T 18, the Aggies benefited from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Pirates to secure a first down. Sanders then completed a 17-yard pass to redshirt junior Amonte Jones for another first down.
Sanders completed another pass to Jones for nine yards before throwing a dart to graduate receiver Jamison Warren, who caught it at the Hampton 12 and ran in for a 41-yard touchdown reception with 57 seconds remaining in the game.
Graduate kicker Andrew Brown, they call him "Money," became a massive part of the storyline from there. He executed the perfect onside kick that graduate Aaron Harris recovered at the A&T 48. Another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball to the Hampton 37, setting up Brown's game-tying 37-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. Brown connected from 49 yards earlier in the game and was not affected by Hampton calling a timeout before his big kick.
"We had no doubt. Even when (Hampton) called timeout to try to ice Money. You can't ice Money," said Gibbs. "He's cool, calm and collected."
Brown's game-tying kick attempt on Saturday was reminiscent of the one he lined up for to try to tie the Tennessee State game two weeks earlier in Nashville, Tenn., that was eventually blocked.
"The other one we missed got blocked. It wasn't on (Andrew). I really feel confident anytime he goes out there," Gibbs added. "That's why when we got the onside kick, I wasn't worried. I knew we were going to get at least three. I wanted to go ahead and finish them right then. But I knew we would be able to tie and go into overtime."Â
That is precisely what happened. Hampton decided to play defense first in overtime as A&T received the ball at the Hampton 25 with a 1st-and-10. The Pirates were greeted with a 22-yard run from Graves. Two plays later, Sanders went into the end zone on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. It didn't take long for the Pirates to answer.
On their first play of overtime, Freeman found Khaioz Watford open across the middle at the 10-yard line. Watford did the rest, running in for a 25-yard touchdown reception. Hampton got the ball first in the second overtime and did not have the same success.
A&T's defense stuffed Hampton on the three straight plays, forcing the Pirates into a 42-yard field goal that Starling made to give the Pirates a 30-27 lead. A&T's defensive stance meant the Aggies needed a touchdown on their first possession of double overtime to win.
Mission accomplished.
Graves had runs of six, 13, and 1 before scoring on a 5-yard run to help A&T improve to 1-2 on the season and 1-0 in the conference.
"Wes has been a guy who's been here a long time," Gibbs said. "I did not doubt that he was going to do what he did. I told him the game was going to come down to him. I told him in the locker room that it is going to come down to you. You're going to have to put the team on your shoulders. And he did, when it mattered."
Graves finished with 87 yards on 18 carries and the game-winning touchdown. Defensively, Jelani King-Leverette had a career night, finishing with eight tackles and a QB hurry. Graduate Tim Alderman was also disruptive, with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and two QB hurries.
The Aggies have another HBCU rival coming to town on Saturday, September 20, when they welcome their chief rival to Truist Stadium, the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Eagles. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
