21
0-1 , 0-0
24
Winner
1-0 , 0-0
21
24
1-0 , 0-0
Winner
| Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
|
|
7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Game Recap: FOOTBALL |
NASHVILLE —Tennessee State Football fought back from a four-point halftime deficit to give Reggie Barlow his first win as Tigers head coach with a 24-21 win over North Carolina A&T in the 2025 John A. Merritt Classic on Saturday.Â
The win improved Tennessee State’s record to 1-0 on the season while the Aggies fell to 0-1.
Kendric Rhymes was named Offensive Player of the Game and paced the Tigers rushing attack by accumulating 174 yards and two touchdowns over the course of the game, averaging 8.3 yards per carry.
James Stewart was named defensive player of the game after recording six tackles and a sack.
DeVaughn Slaughter reeled in four catches for 102 yards and one score.
Syncere Safeeullah showed out for the Tennessee State defense, totaling three tackles and two recovered fumbles. Stephon Shivers added one recovered fumble and Byron Davis had four tackles, 1.0 TFL, one sack, and one forced fumble in the win.
The Tigers won the turnover battle in Saturday’s game, forcing three turnovers while coughing the ball up one time.
Defensively, Tennessee State held up fairly well against the NC A&T offensive attack, holding the Aggies to 343 total yards. The Tigers defense lived in NC A&T’s backfield all game, racking up four sacks and 13 total tackles for loss.
How It Happened
Tennessee State responded to a 7-0 lead from NC A&T with a score to tie it at 7-7 with 6:51 left in the first quarter.The Tigers proceeded to bust up the 7-7 tie with a 41-yard field goal from , making the score 10-7.
NC A&T then grabbed a 14-10 lead, but Tennessee State got on the scoreboard again at the 5:51 left mark in the third quarter with a 60-yard touchdown run from Rhymes to jump back in front 17-14.The Tigers continued to build their lead, scoring again to go up 24-14. Tennessee State didn’t score again in the game and NC A&T tacked on seven more points to finish off the scoring.
Game Notes
» NC A&T outgained Tennessee State 343-252 in the contest.
» Tennessee State won the turnover battle 3-1 after recovering three fumbles.
» Tennessee State had their highest scoring quarter in the fourth period, when they put up seven points.
» Tennessee State converted 2 of 11 third downs while NC A&T was successful on 5 of 15.
» Kaiki Baker led the Tigers with nine tackles.
» Tennessee State scored three touchdowns on plays of 50 yards or more, the longest of which was an 82 yard strike from to .
» Tennessee State scored on an 82 yard strike from Palmer to .
» The Tigers collected 13 tackles for loss and added four sacks.
» The Tigers offense came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, scoring 14 unanswered the rest of the way.
» Braxton Thomas led the Aggies passing attack, completing 11 of his 13 attempts for 169 yards and one touchdown.
» Amonte Jones was NC A&T’s leading receiver with 91 yards and one touchdown
