Sunday, November 1, 2009

Bethune Cookman 31, North Carolina A&T 13

NC A&T Loses Homecoming to Bethune-Cookman 31-13

Greensboro - Bethune Cookman amassed 357 yards of total offense and controlled the time of possession, as the Wildcats spoiled North Carolina A&T's homecoming and Senior Day with a 31-13 victory Saturday. Bethune's sophomore quarterback Maurice Francois ran for 73 yards and a touchdown and threw for another 85 yards, helping his team keep the ball for over 37 minutes in the game. After the Wildcats' Keith Courtney scored from 5-yards out, the Aggies' lone bright spot came on Quay Long's 96-yard punt return for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 going into halftime. Long's return was a school record. In the second half, however, Bethune scored 24 unanswered points, the last touchdown coming on a Ryan Lewis 28-yard interception of North Carolina A&T quarterback Carlton Fears to seal the game.

Bethune crashes the party at A&T

GREENSBORO — Carlton Fears lingered long after all his N.C. A&T teammates had showered and left. Homecoming was over, but the Aggies’ senior quarterback seemed to not want it to end. Not like this. Not with a 31-13 loss to Bethune-Cookman, a wounded, shorthanded team with a gadget option offense and a 3-5 record. Not in the last home game of his college career. So he walked back out into empty Aggie Stadium, clad in his street clothes and letterman’s jacket, for a slow stroll next to the quiet field. Outside in the tent city of tailgating, the party went on and on. But inside, all was quiet and still.

It was as if it had never happened. But it did. The Aggies lost their sixth consecutive homecoming game, sending even the fifth-year seniors away winless on the biggest weekend of the A&T school year. “It feels real bad,” Fears said. “I mean, it’s homecoming and it’s our last game at home. It hurts. It hurts real bad, because we really wanted to go out with a bang this time.” Instead, the Aggies (5-4, 3-3 MEAC) went quietly. They dropped passes. They took bad penalties. They missed tackles and blocks.

Photo Gallery: Bethune-Cookman beats Aggies
Photo Gallery: N.C. A&T homecoming

B-CU's offense explodes

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- They made the long trip shorthanded, bringing along an option offense built on running the ball and milking the clock. But in the second half at sold-out Aggie Stadium, Maurice Francois and the rest of the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats scored 24 straight points and blew out N.C. A&T before a homecoming crowd of 21,500 Saturday afternoon.Francois, B-CU's sophomore quarterback, ran for 73 yards and a touchdown and completed 5-of-7 passes for 85 more yards to lead the suddenly explosive Wildcats (3-5, 2-3 MEAC) to their third win in the last four games.

"The victory here is so sweet, especially after losing our homecoming," B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt said. "We came in here and played against a team that has mostly the same players but with a different attitude and different leadership. They're very impressive on tape and a team that was fierce coming off the football. We knew we had to be at the top of our game." Thing is, they weren't. The Wildcats played without both their starting offensive guards. They moved a linebacker to defensive tackle out of necessity. Running backs Androse Bell (injury) and Joe Morris (illness) didn't make the trip, and neither did the team's leading receiver, JeVaughn Reams.

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