North Carolina A&T
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North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University’s home opener Saturday night at Truist Stadium against Morgan State featured two stifling defenses and few scoring opportunities.
Final from Truist. pic.twitter.com/nrdzkBpURP
— N.C. A&T Athletics (@NCATAGGIES) August 30, 2026
The difference in Morgan State’s 17-7 win over A&T is that the Bears took advantage of those opportunities and the Aggies did not. The most glaring example came late in the third quarter and into the fourth. Redshirt freshman quarterback Braxton Thomas made his second career start and saw his first game action since injuring his arm at UCF on September 6, 2025.
TOUCHDOWN! Braxton Thomas from the first half! #AggiePride | #PoundTheStone | #CAAFB pic.twitter.com/iC1LPFh0wz
— Aggie Pride (@NCATFootball) August 30, 2026
Late in the third quarter with the Aggies leading 7-3, Thomas completed a short pass to junior Rory Jones-Amen-Hetep. Jones-Amen-Hetep turned it into a 46-yard catch-and-run that gave the Aggies 1st-and-goal from the Morgan 2-yard line. Instead of putting the ball in the end zone, the Aggies settled for a 21-yard field goal attempt.
Pics from the first half 📸#AggiePride | #PoundTheStone | #CAAFB pic.twitter.com/yPrt4b4aCt
— Aggie Pride (@NCATFootball) August 30, 2026
Instead of putting three points on the board, Morgan’s Dantonio Hackworth blocked freshman Asher Holland’s field goal attempt, giving the Bears the ball at their own 20. Three plays and 53 seconds later, Cameron Edge threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Towler to send the Bears 80 yards.
“Most football games come down to four or five plays, and this one did,” said A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs. “We didn’t make them, and we allowed them to make them. We’ll grow from this. We’ll learn. I’m not discouraged.”
Score at half. #AggiePride | #PoundTheStone | #CAAFB pic.twitter.com/64ek1uLLOE
— Aggie Pride (@NCATFootball) August 30, 2026
Even though a potential 14-3 lead became a 10-7 deficit, the Aggies still had 14 minutes to recover from the 14-point swing. They moved into Bears territory on each of their next two possessions, but a punt and a sack on fourth down kept them from taking advantage.
After the sack, the Bears took over at their own 48 with 4:47 remaining in the ballgame. The possession eventually led to another crucial point in the game. The Bears faced 4th-and-1 at the Aggies 43. The Bears decided to hand the ball up the middle to Randall Nauden, and junior safety Jonathan Kimbrough-Campbell decided to meet him in the hole at the line of scrimmage with a jarring hit. However, Nauden was given forward progress to the 42, giving the Bears a 1st-and-10 with 2:25 remaining.
Final. #AggiePride | #PoundTheStone | #CAAFB pic.twitter.com/un792SQW1z
— Aggie Pride (@NCATFootball) August 30, 2026
“That crushed us,” said Gibbs. “You could see the life go out of the team. I told them in the locker room, that’s one thing we can’t do. We’ve got to fight to the end. You’re not going to win every game. That’s just a fact. But we’ve got to understand that it’s never over until it’s over. No matter what happens, we’ve got to keep fighting.”
Morgan eventually added to its lead on a 22-yard touchdown run from Jordan Barnett, who finished with 114 yards on 12 carries.
It’s not 10 or 12 plays that kill you; it’s two or three,” said Gibbs. “That was a tight game. That was a typical Morgan State game. They always do a pretty good job defensively. But I felt like our defense played a lot better, but it still comes down to a couple of plays. In the end, we can’t allow somebody to run the ball on us like that. But we’ll get it back.”
The Aggies have a lot to build on. Their lone score came on the season-opening drive, and that drive was super impressive. A&T went 17 plays and used 9 ½ minutes as Braxton ran into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. The Aggies also had a chance to score in the second quarter but missed a 43-yard field goal.
Yesterday's Home matchup with Morgan St. may not have went as planned, but the Aggies are ready to get better and bring home a win to the fans!@NCATFootball pic.twitter.com/rv795TxdfG
— GSM Sports (@GSM_Sports13) August 30, 2026
“We’ve got to do a better job of executing in crucial and critical situations. But that’s every game. Everybody that lost tonight is going to say the same thing.”
Credit: https://ncataggies.com/news
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