Nothing to Bragg about: Rattlers drop to 0-4 at home

Aggies win first game in Tallahassee in 13 years

After a three-week hiatus, luck finally found its way to the field for the North Carolina A&T (4-3, 2-3 MEAC) football team. FAMU kicker Chase Varnadore missed an extra point with 19 seconds remaining, leaving the door open for A&T to snap a three-game losing streak with a 20-13 overtime win at Bragg Memorial Stadium before an announced crowd of only 9, 209.

It was the Aggies’ first win in Tallahassee in 13 years. The Aggies held FAMU to 179 total yards. Eighty-one of those yards came on FAMU’s final drive of regulation with A&T leading 13-7.

Once again, the Rattler porous defense gave up over 200 yards in rushing as the Aggies ran for 256 yards on the afternoon.

Fleming valiant despite tough Saturday

The Rattlers’ game-tying, 13-play, 96-yard drive was highlighted by two spectacular plays from FAMU quarterback Damien Fleming.

On 4th-and-2 from the FAMU 12-yard line, Fleming escaped the clutches of several A&T defenders, scrambled forward and threaded a pass into the hands of Lenworth Lennon for a 5-yard gain. Three plays later, he escaped another Aggie pass rush to pick up 19 yards to the A&T 42-yard line. Faced with 3rd-and-3 from the A&T 23, Fleming unleashed a pass over the outside shoulder Casey Glines as the ball innocently sailed out of bounds.

But a pass interference call gave the Rattlers a first down. Fleming took advantage by finding Dewayne Harvey in the end zone to tie the game at 13 with 19 seconds remaining.

Varnadore’s attempt to give FAMU the lead was hooked left, sending A&T into its first overtime in four years. The Aggies came out on top with a touchdown on its first and only possession in OT.

 

“Right now we’re not good enough to beat people by two touchdowns, three touchdowns because we can’t score, so we just have to take advantage of what we get,” A&T Head Coach Rod Broadway said.