"Iron" Mike Ferguson put the Aggies on his back in the fourth quarter against Winston-Salem State, finishing with 86 yards on 20 carries and the game-clinching touchdown.

Aggies Use Goalline Stand To Hold Off WSSU

By Semaj Marsh
Bluedeathvalley.com
September 7, 2008


 GREENSBORO - The tense situation A&T found itself in against Winston-Salem State last Saturday night was not an unfamiliar one.

Clinging to an eight point lead with less than three minutes left on the clock, A&T saw the Rams march down the field, before facing first and goal from the Aggies’ four yard line. At that moment, you couldn’t help but think back to the numerous heartbreaking losses the Aggies suffered last season when they were unable to preserve fourth quarter leads.

This time around, however, the Aggies made sure their fate would be different.

In what might go down as one of the most memorable goal line stands in team history, A&T’s Blue Death defense smothered the Rams on three straight running plays for no gain. Then on fourth and goal, Rams quarterback Jarrett Dunston attempted to roll out to his left but was blasted by A&T freshman defensive lineman Michah Stanfield six yards behind the line scrimmage. That hit resulted in a fumble which Stanfield recovered at the A&T 14 with 1:13 left in the game.

“It was a great job by our defensive coaches to come up with a plan to keep Winston out of the endzone and a great job by our kids in executing that plan,” said A&T coach Lee Fobbs after his team’s 14-8 victory in front of a sold out Aggie Stadium. “(Defensive Coordinator Tayrone Odums) put our players in a great spot down there to make plays and they responded well.”

For the second week in a row, linebacker Andre Thornton finished with a game high 11 tackles to lead the A&T defense. He agreed that the Aggies’ goal line stand was a total team effort.

"The D-Line got penetration and the secondary had great coverage,” said Thornton. “If it wasn’t for that, we would have never gotten that big sack".

After the change of possession, Fobbs decided not to risk giving the Rams a chance to force a turnover and instructed his quarterback Herbert Miller to run down the clock with three straight kneel downs. The Aggies then elected to take a safety on fourth down to set up a free kick and move out the shadow of their own endzone. WSSU got the back ball one last time at a their own 46 yard line with 14 second remaining, but with zero timeouts left, the Rams were unable to get past midfield as time expired.

"I knew it would be a tough football game,” Fobbs said. “We made more mistakes than they did, but we still came out with the win because we believe now. We believe we can overcome some of those mistakes and still win. They responded to the challenge presented to them tonight."

With the victory, the Aggies improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2003 – the same year they last won the MEAC championship. The Rams, who had dominated the last two meetings between these two teams, entered the game having rushed more than 250 yards in each of those contests.On Saturday, the A&T held the Rams offense to 271 yards of total offense and just 80 yards rushing.

The Aggies drew first blood in the game with a 2-yard touchdown run by Miller in the first quarter, capping off a 10-play, 80-yard drive. The Rams responded with a 8-play, 86-yard scoring drive of their own, as redshirt freshman quarterback Tienn Jefferson ran the ball in from three yards out.However the point after attempt was blocked to keep A&T ahead 7-6.

On a night when the A&T offense had trouble capitalizing on plenty of great field position, the Aggies turned almost exclusively to senior running back Michael Ferguson down the stretch.

With backup running back Dione McNair out because of a foot injury, Ferguson responded with a gutsy 86 yard rushing performance on 20 carries. He finally gave A&T some breathing with a 12-yard scoring run at the 13:57 mark in the final period to make the score 14-6.

A&T will now turn its focus to the start of conference play as they embark on a two-game road trip to the Tidewater Virginia area. First up will be a big match-up against a resurgent Norfolk State team on Saturday before facing traditional MEAC power Hampton on September 20. Ferguson believes when the Aggies arrive in Virginia they'll be bringing a heavydose of confidence with them.

“We finally won a close game in the fourth quarter,” he said. “We’re finishing games now and that’s great."