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GREENSBORO, September 27, 2007 – The North Carolina A&T offense played well in the first half. Then Norfolk State barely allowed the Aggies on the field in the third quarter. It helped the Spartans earn a 50-20 win over the Aggies at Aggie Stadium Thursday night on a game played live on ESPNU.

Norfolk State quarterback Casey Hansen threw for a career-high 351 yards and four touchdowns.  Hansen’s previous high was a 287-yard performance against the Aggies last season. Jeremy Wicker caught five passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while teammate Dario Walker had six catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.

The Aggies were led by Michael Ferguson who had 131 yards on 18 carries. The Spartans' win marked the first time  they’ve defeated the Aggies in Aggie Stadium since 1987. The Aggies fall to 0-5, while the Spartans recorded their first-ever 2-0 start in the MEAC, while improving to 3-1.

“We turned it over,’’ said N.C. A&T head coach Lee Fobbs. “They capitalized and we didn’t. We didn’t take care of the ball. In no phase of the ball game did we take care of the football and they capitalized. It was just poor execution on our part.”

The Aggies turned the ball over four times, which led to 17 Norfolk State points. If there is anything that has hurt the Aggies this season it is giving up points on turnovers. Aggie opponents have scored 66 points off Aggie turnovers.

The Aggies were in a back-and-forth contest on Thursday until a turnover at the end of the first half changed that. With the Aggies trailing 26-20, N.C. A&T quarterback Herb Miller was sacked by Ray Jennings. Miller fumbled at the Spartans took over at the Aggies 26-yard line. It led to a 38-yard field goal by Justin Castellat with seven seconds remaining in the half. The game seemed to slip away from the Aggies after that point.

“Obviously it was a great win for us because it’s the first time we’ve won on the road in over a year,’’ said Norfolk State coach Pete Adrian. “We’ve got a young football team that’s starting to learn how to win.”

That was evident by the Spartans opening drive of the second half. The Aggies offense had compiled 177 yards of offense in the first half. So instead of giving the Aggies offense a chance to do more damage, the Spartans took the ball on the second-half kickoff and kept it.

Leading 29-20 out of the locker room, the Spartans went on a 16-play, 76-yard drive that took 8:27 off the clock. The drive finally ended when Hansen found Jamar Johnson in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown reception. On the drive, the Spartans converted five third downs to take a 36-20 lead.

“That was a great drive by them; they really kept the ball away from us,’’ said Fobbs. “Offensively, we’ve got to do our part though. The offense as a role to play too, but after the first quarter-and-half, our execution wasn’t there.”

The Aggies offense ran only four plays in the third quarter and compiled just 36 yards of offense in the second half. After the nearly 9-minute drive, the Spartans followed with a 10-play, 90-yard drive that ended on a Timothy Ferrell 11-yard run to give the Spartans a 43-20 lead. The Spartans kept the ball 21:13 in the second half.

“We’re learning how to play 60 minutes without worrying about the score,’’ said Adrian. “If we fall behind we still feel like we can win.”

The Spartans did fall behind. The Aggies took their opening drive 74 yards in seven plays and capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown run from Dion McNair. But the Spartans would have an answer for the Aggies all night.

The Spartans took 3:33 to even the score as Jones scored on a 9-yard touchdown. The two teams continued to go back and forth in the first half. Following a Spartans 20-yard field goal, the Aggies regained the lead with a 25-yard touchdown to Chaz Dawson to give the Aggies 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Following a fumble on a punt return by Aggies freshman Quinton Cosby, the Spartans took over at the Aggies 21, Hansen found Jeremy Walker open for a 19-yard touchdown reception that gave the Spartans a 16-13 lead. The Aggies answered by scoring off of a Spartans turnover. Jamison Hedgepeth recovered a Jones fumble at the NSU 28.

The Aggies turned into a 4-yard touchdown by Herb Miller to give the Aggies the lead 20-16. But it didn’t last long as Hansen found Wicker all by himself for a 69-yard touchdown bomb before the half. Senior Daryl Jones added 26 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. Aggies senior receiver had his 20-game streak of catching at least one pass in a game come to an end.