Rams, Aggies fired up again
Blount trying to recreate glory years for WSSU
By John Dell
JOURNAL REPORTER
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The N.C. A&T-Winston-Salem State football rivalry wasn't really a rivalry for a long time.
The games were very lopsided in the 1950s and '60s - A&T won the first 19 times that the schools played. But that all changed in 1977 when a swaggering quarterback named Kermit Blount helped the Rams to a 33-14 win over the Aggies.
Blount, who has been the coach at WSSU the past 14 years, loves to talk about those glory days. The Rams also won in 1978, when they matched their 11-1 record of 1977 - the two best seasons in school history .
The series was discontinued in 1999 after the Rams had come up empty in eight consecutive games against the Aggies. Blount is 0-7 as a coach against A&T, but he was getting closer the last two years that the series was played. The Rams lost 20-7 in 1999 and 20-12 in '98.
"I think in 1977 no one gave us a chance, and we went over to Greensboro and won 33-14," Blount said about when the football rivalry really began. "I don't know if it shocked A&T or what, but from that point on, it was always standing-room-only whenever the two teams got together."
Bill Hayes saw a lot of those games - he coached at both schools, first at WSSU, then at A&T. Hayes is the all-time leader in coaching victories at WSSU and A&T, and is now the athletics director at N.C. Central. He won 89 games at WSSU and 106 more at A&T.
Hayes built WSSU into a football power in the late 1970s and early 1980s before taking the job at A&T.
"I think we helped build the rivalry with that win in 1977 because it's not much of a rivalry when you are getting the lard beat out of you," Hayes said.
The Aggies lead the series 33-9.
When WSSU completes its transition into Division I-A football, both schools will be in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, so the rivalry should continue for years to come.
Hayes became coach at WSSU in 1976, and WSSU and A&T played the next year, after a 17-year break. Hayes remembers his pre-game talk with his team as if it was yesterday.
"Everybody kept talking about how we never had beaten A&T," Hayes said. "But, hell, we had never lost to them because we hadn't played them in a long time. None of us was around then, so we sold them on that."
Hayes also played the "no-respect" card that coaches love to use as motivation. "We were dressing out in the parking lot because the stadium on campus wasn't built yet, so we were getting ready for the game with the fans all around us and I just told our guys how nobody respected us," Hayes said. "And it worked - we took it to them."
Hayes said that after the Rams finally got a win, WSSU fans became a part of the rivalry.
"I just think the atmosphere around the game, the social venues and the conversations in the barber shops and all of that is what makes the rivalry so good," Hayes said. "I was proud to be a part of all that."
When Hayes took the A&T job in 1988, he had to coach against WSSU, and for two years the Rams rolled over their former coach.
"It was one of the strangest feelings I've ever had as a coach, coaching against those guys I recruited at Winston," Hayes said. "Guys like Yancey Thigpen and Donald Frank, so it was very strange."
After those first two losses, however, Hayes managed to go 9-1 against the Rams the rest of his career against the Rams.
Along the way, Hayes had to match wits with Blount, something he didn't like to do.
"I never wanted to hurt Kermit, but I wanted to win," Hayes said. "So that was tough to coach against him."
Hayes said that he will be pulling for Blount in Saturday's game. "I really think Kermit's got a chance because the A&T coaches are all new and probably don't know much about the rivalry," Hayes said. "And Kermit had chances to beat me but never could do it. So I'll be pulling for the Rams because Kermit needs to have a good year."
Dee Todd, the athletics director at A&T, is a 1972 graduate of WSSU. She was a cheerleader in college and says that the rivalry is one of the best in the state.
"As a Ram, I was always envious of the Aggie pride and the spirit that A&T always seemed to have," Todd said. "But at the same time ,Rams fans also have that pride that can't be explained. I think that the rivalry is a clean one that has grown through the years."
Todd said that she'll be rooting for the Aggies, but for selfish reasons is also hoping for a nice day and a large crowd at Aggie Stadium on A&T's campus. (The crowds for the A&T-WSSU game are among the largest in the histories of the two schools.)
Todd said that there is probably more interest in the game this year because the two schools haven't played since 1999.
"I think that's part of it," Todd said. "When you take a break from a rivalry such as this one, it kind of adds to the atmosphere."
The bands also play a role in this rivalry, and both will get to perform at halftime. When the Aggies were dominating the series in the early 1990s the performances by the bands were often better than the games.
"Oh yes, both bands will get their chances," Todd said. "That's going to be fun, also."
• John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com