North Carolina A&T and N.C. Central were at it again, doing what they do best in their historic heated football rivalry...

They had a crowd of 20,180 at Memorial Stadium completely compelled with a sense of suspense only reserved for the most imaginative cliffhangers. 

But unfortunately for the Aggies, when the ending was revealed, it was N.C. Central that emerged with a 28-27 win in the 80th meeting between the schools. N.C. Central’s 1-point victory marked the third time in four games, the Aggies-Eagles rivalry was decided by the slimmest of margins. In fact, the last four meetings have been decided by total of eight points. The Eagles scored two touchdowns off of Aggie turnovers, and scored an additional touchdown early in the game after the Aggies turned the ball over downs to earn their third straight victory over N.C. A&T.

Redshirt freshman Nigel Tomlin rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in place of senior tailback Michael Ferguson, who played sparingly Saturday night. Junior quarterback Carlton Fears rushed for 82 yards on 14 carries.

“They played competitively in the first half and we didn’t,’’ said N.C. A&T head coach Lee Fobbs who saw his team fall down 21-0 in the first half. “We didn’t change a whole lot, but we challenged our kids to play like we thought they would play at the beginning of the ball game. They responded, but when you put the football on the ground it can derail even your best efforts.”

Despite falling behind by three touchdowns early, the Aggies did come away with two Eric Houston field goals in the first half to head into the locker room at the half down 21-6. In second half, there were two moments that gave fans clues as to how Saturday’s game might end in the form of a Fears fumble and a crucial fourth-quarter decision.

Momentum seemed to be shifting in the Aggies direction midway through the third quarter. On a 4th-and-3 from the Eagles 45-yard line, the Aggies lined up in their customary punt formation. But instead of punting the ball, senior Lee Woodson cocked the football behind his ear and launched a pass to a wide open Nick Clement for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The fake punt pulled the Aggies to within eight at 21-13.

But the Aggies’ momentum was halted late in the third quarter as Fears scrambled out of the pocket, spun away from an Eagles defender only to have the football knocked out of hands as he came out of his spin. N.C. Central’s Alex Winters picked up the loose ball and returned it 38 yards for an Eagles touchdown.

“It was third down, so I was just trying to make a play that would give us a first down,’’ said Fears. “I didn’t expect them to blitz on third down that much, so I just tried to move around make something happen. I just didn’t put the ball away.”

The Aggies took advantage of an excessive celebration penalty after the N.C. Central score that forced the Eagles to kickoff from their own 15-yard line. After a 25-yard kickoff return by Long, the Aggies took over at the Eagles 42. Tomlin capped off a five-play drive with his first career touchdown – a 21-yard rumble up the middle that cut the Eagles lead to 28-20.

On the Aggies next possession, Fears made up for his previous mistake by darting up the middle on a designed running play that yielded him a 63-yard gain to the Eagles 2. The Aggies tried to score by putting the ball into the hands of Ferguson twice. But the Durham native, who sustained a high ankle sprain against Hampton two weeks ago, could not put the ball in the end zone.

It would be his only two carries of the night. On 3rd-and-goal from the Eagles 1, Tomlin did push the ball across the goal line to move the Aggies to within a two-point conversion of tying the game at 28-26. But with 9:56 remaining, with momentum on their side and two available timeouts, the Aggies kicked the extra point to move to within 1.