ORONO, Maine – Two of North Carolina A&T's main issues crept to the forefront again as the midway portion of the 2025 football season approaches – giving up big plays and getting off to slow starts.
The Aggies nearly overcame a three-touchdown deficit heading into the fourth quarter before losing on the final play of the game in a 37-30 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) defeat to the Maine Black Bears at Alfond Stadium, Saturday evening.
Maine got 297 yards passing and two touchdowns from quarterback Carter Peevy to improve to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the CAA. Meanwhile, the Aggies dropped to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in league play.
"We don't believe until we get the game close," said A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs. "If you believe, you come out and fight from the beginning. You don't have to wait until the game gets close to prove it. You prove it from the start.
Our issue is that not everyone believes we can win. There are some guys out there always fighting. But everyone doesn't believe. That's how we get in games like this."
Two of A&T's losses this season have come by blowout, in which slow starts and big plays certainly played a factor. But those same two entities proved prevalent in A&T's other three games. The Aggies trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter to Tennessee State in the season opener before losing on a blocked field goal. Two weeks later, against Hampton, the Aggies trailed by 10 in the fourth before rallying to win in double overtime.
On Saturday, the Black Bears scored the game's first 14 points, led 30-16 at the half and 37-16 heading into the fourth quarter. However, the Aggies pieced together a 13-play, 90-yard drive that started in the third quarter and ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kevin White to Antoine Bell with 12:09 remaining in the game.
A&T's drive took more than 6 ½ minutes off the clock and received some help from a 16-yard reception to graduate receiver Jamison Warren on a 3rd-and-10 and a pass interference call on a 3rd-and-5. After surrendering 330 yards of offense in the first half, A&T's defense started to play better. The Aggies did not force a Maine punt until 5 ½ minutes were remaining in the third quarter. But once they started getting stops, they consistently got them. From the 5 ½-minute mark of the third quarter until the end of the game, the Aggies forced the Black Bears to punt on four straight possessions.
On the third of those possessions, Anthony Pecorella's punt landed in the arms of redshirt junior returner Elijah Kennedy. Kennedy returned Pecorella's punt 85 yards for a touchdown, bringing the Aggies to within seven at 37-30.
"When we get in the fourth quarter and the other team doesn't make plays and we do, then everybody wants to play," Gibbs said. "We can't keep doing that. I'm tired of coming close. That's only good in horseshoes and hand grenades."
On Maine's next possession, the Aggies used solid defense, their timeouts and the two-minute timeout to force another Black Bears punt. A&T took over 1st-and-10 from its 20-yard line. The first down play went backwards as Ta'kai Chisolm sacked White for a four-yard loss. A&T recovered as White completed passes of 11 and 8 to redshirt junior Amonte Jones for a first down before completing a 30-yarder to Warren to give the Aggies the ball at the Maine 35.
The Aggies advanced the ball to the Maine 22 with 11 seconds remaining, but two straight incompletions left zero time on the clock, securing the win for Maine.
"If we play with the energy we played with at the end of the game at the beginning of the game, we win this game," said Gibbs. "We wait until it's tough, we wait until it's close, and then we start playing. Bottom line, we didn't find a way to win the game. I'm tired of that."
White had another solid start, throwing for a career-best 279 yards and two touchdowns on 19-for-32 passing. Sophomore Jayvonne Dillard caught six passes for 70 yards and a terrific one-handed touchdown grab in the first half. Graduate Tim Alderman posted nine tackles, one for loss and a half sack, and a QB hurry.
The Aggies return to CAA action next week when they travel to Williamsburg, Va., to face William & Mary at 3:30 p.m. from Zable Stadium.
