GREENSBORO, N.C. -- North Carolina A&T;'s 26-16 win over Morgan State yesterday may have seemed like a moral victory to the Bears fans who didn't attend.
But to those who did, it was merely a painful loss by a struggling team that spent most of the afternoon outplaying the heavily favored Aggies. A&T; needed an 11-point surge in the final 3 minutes, 32 seconds to pull out the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory before 9,600 at Aggie Stadium.
"I think offensively and defensively we got better from last week," Morgan State coach Ricky Diggs said. "That's all I can ask of them -- to get better. Now we have to find a way to push ourselves over the edge."
They came close. With 7:57 left, Michael Moore completed a 54-yard touchdown pass to D'Anthony Carmeron to put the Bears ahead 16-15. But A&T; answered with a 12-play, 93-yard drive that ended when sophomore fullback Cedric Johnson scored on a 4-yard run with 3:32 left.
Morgan had time to retake the lead, but on the Bears' first play from scrimmage, officials ruled that wide-out Dante Carter fumbled after a reception at the Bears' 31. The call drew a protest from the Morgan bench. But Diggs would not blame the officiating. "I can't question a referee's call," he said. "I'm not going to talk about the officiating in this game. I wasn't pleased with it."
Morgan (1-5, 0-3) rolled up 415 yards of offense to A&T;'s 387. Running back Andre Thomas had a game-high 112 yards on 17 carries. Moore completed 12 of 30 passes for 263 yards.
"They didn't get any breaks," A&T; coach Bill Hayes said of Morgan. "They played so well. I've got a lot of respect for the way they played. They did a great job."
A&T; (5-2, 2-0) was led by quarterback Maseo Bolin, who completed 15 of 27 passes for 200 yards, and tight end Carlos Baldwin, who had five catches for 80 yards, including two 17-yard receptions during the winning drive.
The Bears play host to Delaware State at their homecoming Saturday.
NEXT FOR MORGAN
Who: Delaware State.
When: Saturday, at Hughes Field.
Record: 3-3.
Yesterday: Lost to Florida A&M;, 25-18.