North Carolina A&T cruises to 47-13 win

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the second straight season, North Carolina A&T quarterback Kwashaun Quick came up big in the opener.

Quick and the Aggies defeated Alabama A&M 47-13 in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Sunday.

One year after guiding the Aggies to a season-opening win over Appalachian State, the junior rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and also threw for 94 yards and North Carolina A&T pulled away from the Bulldogs with 38 unanswered points.

Both North Carolina A&T’s scoring output and margin of victory were the second-largest in the 10-year history of the Challenge. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference has won eight times. Bethune-Cookman beat Prairie View A&M 63-14 in 2011.

Quick has been the Aggies’ opening-day starter the previous two seasons, including the 2012 opener against Coastal Carolina, but he lost the starter’s role as each season progressed.

“We have a lot of people who can make plays,” North Carolina A&T coach Rod Broadway said. “I was pleased with the way Quick played today. There were some mistakes, but we’re a young team and we can helped them play like an older team as we progress.”

Quick and Tarik Cohen’s speed were too much for Alabama A&M.

In North Carolina A&T’s 24-point second quarter, Quick had a 59-yard scoring run and Cohen an 80-yard run as the Aggies took a 38-6 halftime lead.

Four of the Aggies’ five first-half touchdowns covered 26 yards or more.

Cohen, the game MVP, finished with 161 yards rushing.

“Quick took off a lot of pressure off of me today,” Cohen said. “When they (Alabama A&M) focused on them, it opened holes for me.”

After Alabama A&M closed to 7-6 with 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter on Cesar Diaz Ramon’s second field goal, Tony McRae took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to start a run of 38 unanswered Aggie points.

Marquell Cartwright added a third-quarter touchdown run for North Carolina A&T, which outrushed Alabama A&M 307-141.

Alabama A&M, under first-year coach James Spady, scored its touchdown on a 5-yard TD pass from Brandon Wells to Jonathan Dorsey with 12:29 remaining.

Bryan Brower led Alabama A&M rushers with 60 yards on 17 carries.

The game was played at Bright House Stadium on the UCF Campus with its regular venue, the downtown Florida Citrus Bowl in the midst of renovations. That stadium is expected to reopen for the Florida Classic featuring Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M on Nov. 22nd.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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