Courtesy of NC A&T Athletics
GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T (NCAT) football team fell to the Towson Tigers 31-13 on Saturday afternoon at Johnny Unitas Stadium in a game that appeared to be going strongly in Towson’s favor even before the fourth quarter started.
| Statistics | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
However, NCAT’s two scoring drives in the fourth quarter should give Aggies fans hope for the program’s future, even as the Aggies dropped to 1-10 overall and 0-7 in the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference.
Still, that didn’t stop NCAT from competing until the clock reached zero. It’s a virtue that second-year head coach Vincent Brown has preached to the team throughout the season and one that inspired him to use two timeouts in the game’s final 20 seconds to drive that point home with a six-yard touchdown pass from graduate quarterback Justin Fomby to sophomore tight end Antoine Bell.
“First and foremost, (we) didn’t want to get shut out,” Brown said.
“We’ve been struggling to score points all year, especially the past five or six weeks. So, with about eight or nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, I said, ‘Hey, let’s go with Fomby to try to get some points on the board.’
“The thought behind it was A) to avoid getting shut out and B) to build some positive momentum going into next week against Elon. I wanted to show the team that if we do things the right way, we can score points. We wanted another touchdown at the end to show we’re going to keep fighting and keep trying to move the football to lay down a foundation for next week.”
Before North Carolina A&T’s final offensive series, Fomby threw an interception on a prayer of a deep ball late in the fourth quarter while trailing 31-6. It would have been easy for the team to roll over at that moment, but the embattled Aggies defense forced a three-and-out on Towson’s next possession.
The Tigers punted the ball away to the NCAT 38-yard line, and Fomby took the field with just under three minutes to work. He immediately got in rhythm with a short six-yard pass to Bell, who has seen limited snaps this season. Two plays later, a pass interference call on Towson pushed the Aggies to the Tigers 41.
Without missing a beat, Fomby hit receiver Jayvonne Dillard twice for a total gain of 20 yards before the two-minute timeout. Out of the break, the Aggies battled their way to first-and-goal on the Towson 9. Three plays, three yards, and two timeouts later, North Carolina A&T had one last chance to make something happen on 4th-and-6 with 10 seconds remaining.
That’s when Fomby and Bell made it happen.
A short pass up the middle hit Bell in the chest in the endzone. The referees’ arms raised up toward the sky, signaling their approval for his first career touchdown catch.
For a seemingly inconsequential touchdown, the play carried a lot of weight for this Aggies team. For one, it proved they were willing to fight until the end. Secondly, that North Carolina A&T score and the one previously showcased A&T’s young skilled playmakers will be crucial next season.
Bell, redshirt freshman receiver Jayvonne Dillard, sophomore running back Shimique Blizzard, redshirt sophomore receiver Laquan Veney, and freshman receiver Cortez Lane all had standout moments in the Aggies’ final two scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
Redshirt junior receiver Ger-Cari Caldwell led all receivers with four catches for 56 yards, but Bell wasn’t far off with four catches for 53 yards and the touchdown score. Lane caught the other touchdown, a 16-yard grab that was his only reception of the day and marked his first career TD reception.
NCAT started freshman QB Braxton Thomas before Fomby entered the game. It marked his fourth time playing this season, which means if he plays against Elon next week, he will officially go into the 2025 season as a sophomore instead of a redshirt freshman.
Thomas rushed for 42 yards on Saturday but was also sacked five times. Fomby, a five-year veteran at the college level, will see his collegiate career end next week after the Elon contest. He had 176 passing yards and two touchdowns on a 70 percent completion rate in relief duty.
Towson quarterback Sean Brown helped the Tigers improve to 6-5 overall and 4-3 in league play by completing 23 of 35 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown. Even with A&T’s youth movement, Next Saturday’s festivities will be geared toward the team’s veterans when North Carolina A&T celebrate Senior Day before facing the Elon Phoenix at 1 p.m. from Truist Stadium.