Aggies show off offensive assets in rout
Tight end enjoys key role; Williams finds plenty of room to run
COLLEGE STATION — Following a fight for a high pass late in the first half Thursday night, Texas A&M tight end Jace Sternberger wound up disheveled and a unkempt, with his left shoulder pad sticking out of his maroon jersey on a touchdown catch in the back of the end zone.
Plenty of old-school A&M football fans hadn’t seen such a beautiful sight in ages. As expected the Aggies thumped Northwestern (La.) State 59-7 before a fourfifths-full Kyle Field, but what was a little more unexpected was how much the Aggies incorporated the tight end wholesale under new coach Jimbo Fisher.
A year ago under then-coach Kevin Sumlin, A&M tight ends combined for seven catches for 65 yards and zero touchdowns. By halftime Thursday, Sternberger had five catches for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
A massive dark cloud had settled over Kyle Field a couple of hours prior to kickoff, but fans didn’t consider it some sort of ominous omen concerning the Fisher era — they just appreciated the short-lived shade.
Two hours later, the Aggies under clear skies were a bit slow to find their feet under Fisher against an overmatched Demons squad of the Southland Conference, but fans found something else to appreciate even during that tedious time: the resurrected stardom of junior running back Trayveon Williams.
On the Aggies’ first drive under Fisher, Williams blasted 73 yards on a touchdown run, giving A&M its lone score of the first quarter. By early in the third quarter, when the Aggies led 42-0, Williams had a career-high 240 yards on 20 carries, along with three rushing touchdowns.
The 240 yards, gained in a little more than a half, were second most in a single game in school history, behind Bob Smith’s 297 against SMU in 1950.
Following an outstanding freshman season, Williams fought injury for much of last year, but appears at full throttle once again for the Aggies — and they’ll need him in a big way in a little more than a week, when No. 2 Clemson visits Kyle Field on Sept. 8.
“Trayveon has got great acceleration,” Fisher said of his star back. “He’s just a natural runner with the football.”
The only dark cloud for the Aggies during the game came with two ejections of defensive starters whistled for targeting — and both on special-teams plays. Linebacker Otaro Alaka and defensive back Donovan Wilson each left the game in the first half following official reviews of their hits.
The early rests might not have been terrible for either player, considering they’ve been prone to injury and with the Clemson game at hand.
Quarterback Kellen Mond, after beating out Nick Starkel for the starting gig during camp, got plenty of repetitions in preparing for Clemson. Mond played a little more than a half, completing 17 of 25 passes for 184 yards with two touchdown passes — both to Sternberger. Mond also ran for a touchdown, although he finished with 3 yards on six carries.
With the lone touchdown after one quarter, the Aggies blew the game open in the second quarter, scoring on a 7-yard Sternberger touchdown catch, a 2-yard touchdown run by Williams, a 1-yard TD run by Mond and, finally, the 8yard catch in the back of the end zone by Sternberger that left his shoulder pads popped out.
With the game well out of reach late in the third quarter, A&M kicker Daniel LaCamera matched his career long with a 52-yard field goal, in getting some needed work under the lights with a showdown to come.
“Jace had a big night for us,” Mond said. “He caught a lot of contested (passes).”
With Northwestern State out of the way, the Aggies will turn their attention to Clemson, in a series A&M leads 3-1. The two sides haven’t played since 2005, however, long before Dabo Swinney turned that program into a national powerhouse.
The last time Clemson visited Kyle Field, the Aggies under-then coach Dennis Franchione defeated the Tigers 27-6. Fisher, who was LSU’s offensive coordinator then, became the first A&M coach since Franchione to win his Aggies debut.
Franchione’s successor, Mike Sherman, lost his opener to Arkansas State in 2008, and Sumlin lost his opener against Florida in 2012. Fisher’s overall record is 8423 in his ninth season, with the 83 previous victories coming at Florida State from 2010-2017.