Oct. 8, 2011
Final Stats
Reach Football Contact Michael Stambaugh for more details - 386.481.2278 -
Greensboro, N.C. - Making their first conference road trip, the Wildcats took a stunning defeat at the hands of North Carolina A&T, falling to the Aggies 22-3, sending B-CU home with the lowest offensive output since Brian Jenkins took over the program.
“They lined up and they beat our tail,” said Head Coach Brian Jenkins at the post-game press conference. “It was a good, old-fashioned butt-whooping, and my hat goes off to them. Coach Broadway and A&T went toe-to-toe and kicked our tail. It shows in the stats and it showed on the field.”
The Wildcats had a rough go of it to start the game, muffing the opening kickoff and taking control at the 12, followed up with a safety out of the back of the endzone to give the Aggies the early 2-0 lead with just 11 seconds off the clock.
The Cats bounced back with two strong defensive series, including a DJ Howard interception return to the North Carolina A&T 25 to set up Sven Hurd's career-long 42 yard field goal for B-CU's first and only lead of the afternoon.
Uncommon miscues hurt the Wildcats in the first half, taking six penalties for 45 yards, five coming in the first eight minutes of play, which had a dramatic impact on extending drives into Aggie Territory.
The Aggies came back to reclaim the lead on 29-yard field goal by Camacho Garcia with 3:08 to go in the first quarter at 5-3. Though the game remained tight until late, they did not relinquish control again.
NCAT carried a 12-3 lead into halftime after breaking a goal-line stand with a touchdown pass from Lewis Kindle to running back Devin Moore early in the second quarter.
The score remained static until late in the third, when A&T collected a field goal after a strong B-CU defensive stand inside their own five.
The Wildcat defense made outstanding pays to put B-CU in position to climb back into the game, but the turnover bug produced problems for the offense. Ryan Lewis picked off Kindle to open the fourth, but a forced fumble on the next pay returned it to the Aggies. B-CU gave up three turnovers in the second half
The Aggies put in their final score on a Mike Mayhew nine-yard run with 7:38 remaining, after collecting a fumble on the B-CU 14.
“I think we're still a very good football team,” said Jenkins, “but you've got to give A&T some credit. When you look across that line, A&T was lining up with a rage in their eyes, and with a purpose, and they flat-out beat us. They played to win, and they did.”
Jackie Wilson led the Wildcats with 96 yards passing n 10 f 16. Maurice Francis led all receivers in the game with four receptions for 62 yards. Both he (9 games) and Eddie Poole (17 games) continued their reception streaks.
The 'Cats struggled on the ground, an area of typical strength, earning five yards as a team rushing. In total, B-CU had 108 yards total offense versus NCAT's 330.
“Hopefully people in this conference will take notice,” said Jenkins. ”It's just like I've been saying, I don't think there's any slouches in this conference. I think anybody can get beat on any given day, and today A&T had our number.”
Next up for the Wildcats is the inaugural Biker Classic, October 15th at Municipal Stadium vs. Fort Valley State.
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