Box Score         Postgame Quotes
GREENSBORO, September 15, 2007 -- Momentum is one thing. Sustaining it is another. Saturday, the North Carolina A&T football team had its moments where it appeared it was ready to put a real scare into the three-time defending MEAC champion Hampton Pirates.

But each time the Aggies pushed, the Pirates pushed back harder until they finally pushed the Aggies into a 59-14 loss at Aggie Stadium. The game was played on ESPNU on a tape delayed basis and aired 10 p.m., Saturday.

“It was a very physical football game, there is no question about that,’’ said N.C. A&T head coach Lee Fobbs. “I felt like our defense played well. Offensively, we just didn’t have enough continuity. Throughout the ball game that was our problem. We got a few things going, but  we just weren't able to be consistent.”

Hampton jumped out to a 17-0 first half lead, but the Aggies gained some momentum going into the locker room with their most impressive drive of the game. A 21-yard completion to Curtis Walls set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Trey Green to cut Hampton's lead to 10 at 17-7.

“Down 17-7 at halftime, we’re still in the game,’’ said Green, a senior fullback out of Fayetteville. “We were excited. We were ready to go out and do the things we needed to do to win.”

The Aggies momentum out of the locker room was halted by a bizarre start to the second half. The Aggies kicked off to Hampton to start the game. But instead of receiving the second half kickoff, the Aggies kicked off again.

Fobbs said it occurred because of miscommunication. The misunderstanding hurt the Aggies badly. Hampton’s Kevin Teel took the opening second-half kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown The Aggies kept themselves in the game, however, by forcing a Pirates turnover and turning it into a six-yard Michael Christen touchdown reception with 11:48 remaining in the third quarter to put the Aggies down 24-14.

But the remaining 25 minutes of the game belonged to the Pirates, unfortunately. They answered N.C. A&T’s score with a four-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a Gilchrist touchdown. Kendall Langford then returned a Shelton Morgan interception 22-yards for another score and the Pirates capped off their third quarter scoring with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell to Teel to end any hopes of an Aggies upset.

"Opportunities were there for us, we just didn’t cash in,’’ said Fobbs. “We’ve got to go back to the practice field and correct some things. We’ll go back to the drawing board and continue to get things corrected.”

Hampton senior running back Van Morgan ran for a career-high 154 yards and scored twice to lead the Pirates. It was the Pirates fourth straight win over the Aggies as they improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the MEAC.

Hampton quarterback T.J. Mitchell had his second straight standout performance as he followed up his 310-yard passing effort against Howard last week with 210 yards passing, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 12-for-22 passing. His favorite target was Jeremy Gilchrist who had six grabs for 112 yards and a touchdown.

The Aggies meanwhile, lost their 19^th straight game overall and dropped to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the MEAC. Junior running back Michael Ferguson led the Aggies with 98 yards on 21 carries. In his first career start at quarterback, Morgan threw for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

N.C. A&T welcomes longtime rival N.C. Central to Aggie Stadium next week with a 6:30 p.m., kickoff. The two teams will be meeting for the 79^th time on the gridiron.