Box Score
Postgame Quotes

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 20, 2007 – All the losses hurt of course. But there was something unique about the North Carolina A&T football team’s 35-27 loss to Howard Saturday afternoon at Greene Stadium.

The Aggies were not only up in the fourth quarter. They were up two scores in the fourth quarter with less than five minutes remaining in the game at Howard, during Howard’s homecoming, in front of celebrities such as Sean Combs, Carl Lewis and Chaka Kahn.

But it wasn’t about losing in front of the celebs in the audience or the event; it was about the heart-wrenching way the Aggies lost. A blocked field goal, two late Howard touchdowns – one set up by an onside kick – and an interception for a touchdown all happened in a span of 7:12 that sent the Aggies back home scratching their heads.

Herb Miller threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns, while linebackers Tim Shropshire and Andre Thornton had 11 and 10 tackles respectively.

“I’m proud of our kids,’’ said Fobbs. “They played hard, they played fast, and they played aggressively, so right now I’m really hurting for them. All of them are tough. Our kids go out there and work hard every day in practice. They are hurt right now. But I know I’ve got a tough bunch of kids who are going to bounce back and be ready to go next week at homecoming.”

For 53 minutes it looked like the Aggies would head into next week’s homecoming game against Bethune-Cookman looking for a two-game winning streak instead of still trying to snap their current 24-game losing streak. Saturday’s game was made to look even better for the Aggies because unlike their other previous close calls this season, the Aggies even secured themselves a cushion in the fourth quarter.

Senior wide receiver Curtis Walls went across the middle, found a spot in-between two Howard defenders and caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Herb Miller to give the Aggies a 27-15 lead. It was their biggest fourth-quarter lead since an Oct. 1, 2005 game against Tennessee State when the Aggies led by 13 in the fourth quarter.

More optimism arose when the Aggies recovered a muffed kickoff by the Bison at the Bison 22. The Aggies drove the ball to the Bison 10 and brought on kicker Eric Houston to attempt a 27-yard field goal to increase the lead. Randell Means’ right-hand would turn smiling Aggie faces into downward facial expression that never turned up again.

Means blocked Houston’s kick, giving the Bison the ball at its own 20 with 7:12 to play. “I think the key was the fumble we recovered on the kickoff, but came away with no points,’’ said Fobbs. “We had to have points in that situation and we came away with nothing. I knew that had a chance to be problematic for us.”

Bison quarterback Brian Johnson led the Bison on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that included converting a fourth down and a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jarahn Williams to pull the Bison to within six at 27-21 with 3:52 remaining.

Following the score, the Bison lined up for an onside kick and recovered it. But the Bison were penalized for being offside, forcing a re-kick. Despite being given new life, the Aggies weren’t able to recover the re-kick, giving the Bison the ball at its own 38. Four plays later, Howard fullback Karlos Whittaker took an inside hand-off from Johnson on a trap play and ran 27 yards for a touchdown and a 28-27 Howard lead with 2:40 to play.

The tough seven-minute stretch for the Aggies was painfully ended when Robert Parker intercepted a Miller pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.

“It’s all about finishing,’’ said Walls. “We now know what it takes to go out there and play a competitive game. Now we have to do what it takes to win the game. It’s about making sure we do everything needed from start to finish, not just three-fourths of the game.”

The Aggies start was excellent. After a missed Howard field goal, the Aggies went on an 11-play, 69-yard drive in the first quarter that resulted in an 8-yard touchdown by Michael Ferguson to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead. The Bison answered by scoring eight straight points that included two John Mendoza field goals and safety.

The Aggies were able to regain the lead when Miller replaced starter Shelton Morgan in the second quarter and threw a superb 67-yard touchdown pass to Michael Caldwell for a 13-8 lead after the missed extra point. The Aggies took more steps toward helping the faithful believe the streak was ending.

Miller put together an excellent two-minute drill to end the first half that he ended with a 45-yard touchdown run and a 20-8 lead going into the locker room. It was the Aggies first halftime lead since Oct. 8, 2005 against Morgan State. It was also the biggest Aggies halftime lead since Oct. 1, 2005 against Tennessee State (16-0).

“You never know in this game,’’ said Fobbs. “With the many ways the ball bounces, you can’t say you’ve got it. We never felt that way, we kept playing. But when we have the lead, we have to protect the football. We had the lead today, but we didn’t protect it.”