Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Michelle R. Martinelli

Watch N.C. A&T’s and Alcorn State’s dazzling Celebration Bowl halftime band performances

The North Carolina A&T Aggies had a commanding 24-10 halftime lead over Alcorn State in Saturday’s Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, thanks in large part to two 50-plus-yard touchdown passes from quarterback Kylil Carter. Should NC A&T win, it will be its third straight Celebration Bowl victory and second consecutive one over the Braves.

Early in the second quarter, Carter connected with wide receiver Elijah Bell for a 53-yard touchdown to get the Aggies on the board, giving them a 7-3 lead.

And after Alcorn State responded with a touchdown of its own, Carter struck again, this time finding wide receiver Zachary Leslie for a monster 59-yard touchdown play only a few minutes later.

But in addition to these huge bombs downfield, both teams’ bands stunned during their halftime performances. That’s hardly surprising, especially since N.C. A&T finished No. 1 in the ESPN/The Undefeated HBCU Band Rankings this season, and these performances are as much fun to watch as the game, if not more so.

And thanks to The Undefeated, we can watch them over and over. So here’s N.C. A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine:

More about the band via The Undefeated:

N.C. A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine, which was tops in the September rankings, ended the season No. 1 because of No. 2 ratings in auxiliaries and musicality, No. 3 in percussion, No. 5 in drum majors, No. 6 in drill and design in the cumulative rankings for the season. The Aggies were No. 2 in the preseason rankings and in October, and were never out of the top five during the season.

And here’s Alcorn State’s Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite:

At the time of this post, N.C. A&T had a 52-31 lead in the third quarter.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.