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Aggies try to recover from Daytona Beach Debacle
By Semaj Marsh
Bluedeathvalley.com
Nov. 2, 2006
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| Bethune bulllied the overmatched and inexperienced Aggies Thursday night |
For two minutes and six seconds last Thursday night, the A&T football team found itself in uncharted waters.
That’s how long the Aggies were able to look up at the Municipal Stadium scoreboard and find themselves still leading the highly- favored Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 7-0.
It was the first time A&T has been ahead in a contest at any point this season.
The unprecedented score was the result of a 11-yard touchdown pass from Wayne Campbell to fullback Trey Green, capping a seven play, 65-yard drive on the game’s opening possession. At that moment a rare feeling of optimism slowly began to infiltrate the A&T sidelines as the youthful Aggies wondered cautiously if this could really be the night their 12-game losing streak would come to an end.
That is, until reality struck.
On the ensuing kickoff, Bethune’s Eric Weems returned the ball 67 yards to the Aggies’ 27-yard line and, two plays later, Wildcat quarterback Jimmie Russell connected with receiver Jonathan Summers on a 12-yard touchdown pass to knot the game at 7-all.
Bethune then proceeded to score on their next nine possessions, racking up a season-high 603 yards in total offense en route to handing A&T one of its most embarrassing defeats in school history, 70-7.
“Obviously, going into the ball game against Bethune, one of our biggest concerns was their overall team speed.,” said A&T head coach Lee Fobbs. “They run extremely well and we tried to minimize that as much as we could by attempting to control the football. In the first two quarters we were able to stick with it a little bit, but I think the turnovers really began to take a spark out of our kids.”
Staying true to form, the Aggies (0-5, 0-8) were again plagued by untimely miscues and turnovers, the most devastating of which came when they were inside the red zone.
Down 14-7 in the first quarter, Campbell drove A&T down to the Wildcats’ 20 yard line for the potentially-tying score, but then short-armed a pass to Curt Walls in the endzone that was intercepted by Bethune’s James Monds for a touchback..
Later, while trailing 28-7, A&T squandered yet another scoring opportunity just before halftime when Green fumbled the ball on the one yard line, which was recovered by the Wildcats in the endzone for yet another drive-killing touchback.
Bethune would quickly answer that turnover with a 80-yard scoring drive to take a 35-7 lead into the break.
In the second half the floodgates really began to open, as Bethune repeatedly marched down the field at will and the Aggies seemingly lost all ability- or desire- to make even the most routine tackles.
Fobbs, who constantly tells his troops not to lose focus after bad plays, was asked if he thought some of his players began to mail it in once the game had gotten out of reach. It was an allegation that he vehemently rejected.
“As we kept playing and pressing on, I’m pretty sure that some frustration probably began to set in, but our kids were out there still battling and trying to get things done,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. Our kids continued to fight.”
However, he wasn’t so confident that opposing coach Alvin Wyatt didn’t try to pile on the points against his you team, even when the contest had long been decided.
“Whether or not Alvin (Wyatt) ran up the score, all I know is this: better days are coming and what comes around goes around,” Fobbs said. “Simple as that.”
Whatever the case, A&T won’t have much time to fret over the “Daytona Beach Debacle.” This Saturday, they play host to conference foe Florida A&M at Aggie Stadium at 4:00 PM
The Rattlers (5-3, 3-2) enter as one of the MEAC’s hottest teams, having won five out of their last six games including a dramatic 24-23 win over Morgan State last week. FAMU’s run defense, however, ranks only one spot higher than the Aggies nationally (113 out of 115 teams), which may bode well for A&T running back Michael Ferguson. Against Bethune, Ferguson eclipsed the century mark for the second time this season with 108 yards on 28 carries.
With only two more home games left on the 2006 schedule, A&T desperately needs to reclaim its sense of pride and find positives to build on for next season. A strong showing this Saturday would be a good start.
“We’re hurting right now,” Fobbs said. “But nobody here is taking a step back. We all know what we’ve got to do in order to get ready for FAMU this week.”
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