Box Score
Postgame Quotes
GREENSBORO, October 27, 2007 – The controversial call in the fourth quarter was one thing. Losing the fourth straight homecoming was another. Then there was yet another fourth-quarter lead that disappeared.

But the most painful part of the Aggies 24-20 loss to Bethune-Cookman for North Carolina A&T head football coach Lee Fobbs was watching eight seniors walk out of the Aggies locker room without a home win in the last two seasons. Two of those seniors – junior college transfers Andrew Sagote’ and Antonio Johnson – never won at Aggie Stadium.

“The thing I want everybody to understand is that these guys work extremely hard,’’ said Fobbs. “They come from a place no one understands but them. No one knows how much these guys sacrifice to come out here and perform every week. We have eight seniors and I really hurt for those eight seniors. We were on a mission to come out here and win for those guys and it didn’t happen.”

It’s easy to understand Fobbs and the underclassmen’s sentiments. Fobbs has quite the impressive senior class. There is wide receiver Curtis Walls, who has been involved in campus life since he started at N.C. A&T. He even ran for Student Government Association president.

Fellow wide receiver Michael Caldwell turned himself from just another local walk-on receiver to the best deep threat the Aggies have on the roster. There is also fullback Tre Green whose work ethic in the classroom, the weight room and on the field has made him one of the most respected athletes on N.C. A&T’s campus.

Johnson is a military veteran who served his country during war time, and Davion Hemphill is forfeiting his last season of eligibility next season to focus on academic endeavors. Fobbs’ seniors even made big plays on Saturday. Defensive lineman LaShawn McLean forced a fumble. Chaz Truesdale blocked a punt. Caldwell again exhibited his big-play ability and scored on a 74-yard touchdown. And Sagote’ and his offensive line mates cleared the way for another 100-yard performance by tailback Michael Ferguson.

Yet, the Aggies found themselves in familiar territory on Saturday. For the fourth time this season, they held a lead in the fourth quarter with less than eight minutes remaining and for the fourth time they couldn’t hold it. Only this time, the Aggies misfortune actually appeared as a fortunate bounce at first.

With the Aggies leading 20-17 with 7:42 remaining, Wildcats punt returner Corey Council muffed a Lee Woodson punt at the Wildcats 4. The ball rolled into the end zone where Council fell on the ball. The play was ruled a touchback instead of a safety, giving the Wildcats the ball at the 20.

“They said to me that it was muffed at the 1,’’ said Fobbs. “He said it was a kick and it was muffed and it carried into the end zone, so it’s a touchback. That’s the way it was explained. I thought we should have had a safety. They didn’t agree.”

The disagreement turned into a 16-play, 80-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion and a pass interference call on the Aggies that kept the Wildcats drive alive. In the end, the Wildcats capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown that eventually became the game-winning score with 1:04 remaining.

“The last drive was a big drive for them,’’ said N.C. A&T head coach Lee Fobbs. “We had the pass interference play when we pretty much had them stopped. It kept the drive going and we could never make the key stops.”

N.C. A&T still had a chance to win. The Aggies advanced the ball to the Wildcats 46 with 23 seconds remaining. Shelton Morgan let loose with a pretty pass down the right sideline. An outstretched Caldwell made a leaping effort for it on his final game at Aggie Stadium. The ball landed on top of both his forearms, but when he landed the impact knocked the ball from his grasps leading to a fourth down.

On fourth down, Morgan’s pass to Walls was incomplete. It was yet another close call that appeared as if it would end the Aggies long losing streak.

“Once they learn to do what we did today – persevere – they’re going to be a good football team,’’ said Bethune-Cookman head coach Alvin Wyatt. “It’s all a matter of getting close and staying close and the victories will come. We felt coming in that A&T was a team that just needed to finish and once they finished, they’re going to have success from here on out. We were just hoping that it wasn’t us they finished against.”

The Aggies trailed 17-3 at the half. Overcome with pride, the Aggie seniors began to exert themselves. McLean forced a fumble that led to a Joe Taylor 40-yard fumble return, the Aggies first defensive score since Oct. 1, 2005. A heads up play by Caldwell to run the ball into the end zone after a bad snap on the extra point put the Aggies down 17-11.

Truesdale’s blocked punt led to an Eric Houston 30-yard field goal, and Caldwell’s score gave the Aggies the lead with 13:12 remaining in the game.

“It’s disappointing not to win, period,’’ said Fobbs. “I understand the magnitude of winning at home and the magnitude of winning homecoming here at A&T. I understand all of that.

But it’s frustrating to these guys to lose any ballgame. They work hard every day. They do everything I ask them to do. There are times when I ask them to look at themselves and then there are the times when I look at myself. We’re all in this thing together. It’s more disappointing to (the seniors) because they’re the most important part of this whole thing.”