Post by Bornthrilla on Sept 26, 2004 11:28:40 GMT -5
'A bumpy ride' ends in victory for Aggies
9-26-04
By Rob Daniels Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- As a work of art, N.C. A&T's 19-17 victory over Elon on Saturday was kind of like Andy Warhol's thing with the Campbell's soup cans: outwardly bland but somehow appreciated.
Generally a three-hour standoff, the Aggies' home opener turned on three plays: a screen pass that became an 86-yard touchdown; an improvisational act that became a 49-yard pass play; and an interception return that gave A&T a decisive 19-10 fourth-quarter edge.
Coach George Small, whose team improved to 2-2, didn't seem too troubled that nearly half of A&T's 298 net yards came on two plays.
"A bumpy ride? Yeah, it was," he said. "But that's part of developing ballplayers.
"It was not pretty, but the kids gave us effort and we came out on top."
Quarterback Adrian Moye, subbing for injured Marshall Glenn, was good enough to get the job done, and Micheaux Hollingsworth rushed for 96 yards and did the bulk of the work on the screen pass.
The Phoenix (1-2) lamented opportunities lost when it got into Aggies territory but stalled. Coach Paul Hamilton blamed himself for much of it, alleging he got too conservative at critical times.
One of those, he said, came early in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 13-10, Phoenix quarterback Kye Hamilton, the coach's son, looked to hit Anthony Crews with a short pass. But when James McCoy stepped in front and swiped the ball, he was gone for a 46-yard return for a touchdown that made it 19-10.
"I didn't even know he was there," said Crews, the former star quarterback at McMichael and Reidsville High Schools. "He broke on it so nice. Nothing I could do about it."
Paul Hamilton said he should have bagged the short toss for something deeper. McCoy said he knew what was coming.
"Followed him the whole way," McCoy said of Kye Hamilton. "He was just looking at one receiver."
That play, combined with general Aggies defensive improvement in the second half, limited the role of Phoenix running back John Taylor, who had carried the ball on 15 of his team's first 18 offensive plays. Taylor finished 32 carries for 154 yards.
"I'm pretty beat up," Taylor said.
The interception also made the final Phoenix touchdown, a 5-yard pass with 35 seconds left, cosmetic.
The day's first important sequence came with Elon ahead 3-0 and having pinned A&T on its own 4. Moye dropped back into the end zone and threw the ball away, but there was no Aggie in the vicinity of the pass. Elon thought it deserved a safety; Paul Hamilton said he didn't get an explanation.
"I certainly asked," he said. "It looked to me ... well, y'all saw the play."
Four plays later, Moye calmly looked at two blitzing Elon guys and lobbed a screen to Hollingsworth, who was barely touched en route to the end zone. The gain was just 4 yards off the longest pass play in school history.
"Just a little head-and-shoulders thing," Hollingsworth said. "I let Big Juice (guard Junius Coston) get his block, and I was off and running."
The Phoenix almost immediately regained the lead at 10-7 on Taylor's 37-yard scoring run. Elon held that lead until an 80-yard scoring drive by the Aggies that featured one wicked grab late in the third quarter.
Moye rolled out and heaved one that Brandon Trusty somehow snared at the Elon 27.
"That was not a great pass, but it was a great play by the receiver," Moye said.
The 49-yard gain led to a fourth-down conversion and Brian Johnson's TD run from the 2 to make it 13-10.
Why the Aggies won: Their defense excelled once Elon crossed the 50. Four of the visitors' drives into Aggies territory produced nothing.
Beyond the stats: Micheaux Hollingsworth left the game in the fourth quarter with a right ankle sprain, but he is expected to play next week.
Worth repeating: "I've got to let Kye Hamilton play. We threw an interception because I'm throwing 5-yard hitches and they're just sitting on it." -- Paul Hamilton, Elon coach, describing A&T's James McCoy's interception and return of a short pass by QB Kye Hamilton
9-26-04
By Rob Daniels Staff Writer
News & Record
GREENSBORO -- As a work of art, N.C. A&T's 19-17 victory over Elon on Saturday was kind of like Andy Warhol's thing with the Campbell's soup cans: outwardly bland but somehow appreciated.
Generally a three-hour standoff, the Aggies' home opener turned on three plays: a screen pass that became an 86-yard touchdown; an improvisational act that became a 49-yard pass play; and an interception return that gave A&T a decisive 19-10 fourth-quarter edge.
Coach George Small, whose team improved to 2-2, didn't seem too troubled that nearly half of A&T's 298 net yards came on two plays.
"A bumpy ride? Yeah, it was," he said. "But that's part of developing ballplayers.
"It was not pretty, but the kids gave us effort and we came out on top."
Quarterback Adrian Moye, subbing for injured Marshall Glenn, was good enough to get the job done, and Micheaux Hollingsworth rushed for 96 yards and did the bulk of the work on the screen pass.
The Phoenix (1-2) lamented opportunities lost when it got into Aggies territory but stalled. Coach Paul Hamilton blamed himself for much of it, alleging he got too conservative at critical times.
One of those, he said, came early in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 13-10, Phoenix quarterback Kye Hamilton, the coach's son, looked to hit Anthony Crews with a short pass. But when James McCoy stepped in front and swiped the ball, he was gone for a 46-yard return for a touchdown that made it 19-10.
"I didn't even know he was there," said Crews, the former star quarterback at McMichael and Reidsville High Schools. "He broke on it so nice. Nothing I could do about it."
Paul Hamilton said he should have bagged the short toss for something deeper. McCoy said he knew what was coming.
"Followed him the whole way," McCoy said of Kye Hamilton. "He was just looking at one receiver."
That play, combined with general Aggies defensive improvement in the second half, limited the role of Phoenix running back John Taylor, who had carried the ball on 15 of his team's first 18 offensive plays. Taylor finished 32 carries for 154 yards.
"I'm pretty beat up," Taylor said.
The interception also made the final Phoenix touchdown, a 5-yard pass with 35 seconds left, cosmetic.
The day's first important sequence came with Elon ahead 3-0 and having pinned A&T on its own 4. Moye dropped back into the end zone and threw the ball away, but there was no Aggie in the vicinity of the pass. Elon thought it deserved a safety; Paul Hamilton said he didn't get an explanation.
"I certainly asked," he said. "It looked to me ... well, y'all saw the play."
Four plays later, Moye calmly looked at two blitzing Elon guys and lobbed a screen to Hollingsworth, who was barely touched en route to the end zone. The gain was just 4 yards off the longest pass play in school history.
"Just a little head-and-shoulders thing," Hollingsworth said. "I let Big Juice (guard Junius Coston) get his block, and I was off and running."
The Phoenix almost immediately regained the lead at 10-7 on Taylor's 37-yard scoring run. Elon held that lead until an 80-yard scoring drive by the Aggies that featured one wicked grab late in the third quarter.
Moye rolled out and heaved one that Brandon Trusty somehow snared at the Elon 27.
"That was not a great pass, but it was a great play by the receiver," Moye said.
The 49-yard gain led to a fourth-down conversion and Brian Johnson's TD run from the 2 to make it 13-10.
Why the Aggies won: Their defense excelled once Elon crossed the 50. Four of the visitors' drives into Aggies territory produced nothing.
Beyond the stats: Micheaux Hollingsworth left the game in the fourth quarter with a right ankle sprain, but he is expected to play next week.
Worth repeating: "I've got to let Kye Hamilton play. We threw an interception because I'm throwing 5-yard hitches and they're just sitting on it." -- Paul Hamilton, Elon coach, describing A&T's James McCoy's interception and return of a short pass by QB Kye Hamilton