“Wait a minute, they’re not done yet. We still have some
games to play,” Broadway said.
But after the 11th-ranked Aggies (7-1, 5-0 MEAC) won their
sixth straight homecoming, it was hard not to get a little choked up. The
Aggies were in the midst of a seven-game homecoming losing streak when Broadway
arrived in 2011. They had no recruiting class in 2011 and signed only seven in
2012 because of reduction in scholarships due to a low graduation rate that
occurred prior to Broadway’s tenure.
“Man, you’ll get me crying in here,” said Broadway talking
about the journey he and his players have taken. “I am going to say it again;
these guys are special. This is really
the first class we had. You see what scholarships do for you. It gives you an
opportunity to get some players.”
Those players, some of them seniors now, certainly meant a
lot to the Aggies on Saturday as well. Senior All-American Tarik Cohen, a NCAA
FCS Player of the Year candidate, had 145 yards and three touchdowns on 17
carries. It marked the eighth time in his career he has had a three-touchdown
game, and it was his third such game this season. Cohen added 65 yards
receiving to his totals.
But the Rattlers (3-6, 3-3 MEAC) were not willing to concede
anything to the No. 1 team in black college football. The Rattlers took a 10-7
lead over the Aggies with 9:21 remaining in the second quarter thanks to a
20-yard field goal by Colby Blanton. By the end of the second half, however,
the Aggies had regained control of the game.
Cohen started the shift in momentum with one of his
signature change of direction runs where he started left and reversed field to
the right. After coming back right it looked like he was going to be forced out
of bounds at the FAMU 5-yard line, so he leaped and extended his body toward
the pylon for a spectacular 19-yard touchdown run. Bell followed with his
touchdown grab to give the Aggies a 21-10 halftime lead.
When N.C. A&T was done answering FAMU’s second-quarter
field goal, they had rattled off 35 unanswered points with the addition of a
1-yard run from Marquell Cartwright, an 83-yard run from Cohen and a 20-yard run from
Demetrius Fairley.
The Rattlers were led by receiver Montavious Williams who
had eight receptions for 98 yards. The Aggies outrushed the Rattlers 313-77 and
compiled 543 yards of offense.
“Let me say this too, we won five games my first year with
our hands tied behind our backs,” said Broadway. “We didn’t have spring
practice, we didn’t have our full practice time and only had 29 scholarships.
When I think back, I am proud of those kids. They fought through it and helped
us get this thing going in the right direction.
They deserve a lot of credit.
They set the stage on how we wanted to go about doing things, and I am
proud of them.”