MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE
ROASTING THE RAZORBACKS A&M DEFENSE, ARMANI WATTS COME UP HUGE IN WIN OVER ARKANSAS
By Lawrence Smelser @LawrenceSmelser
T
exas A&M and Arkansas were tied at 7-7 at the beginning of the second quarter. Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen snapped the ball and handed it off to running back Rawleigh Williams, who took off, leaving multiple A&M defenders in the dust except for Justin Evans, who sprinted down the sideline, chased him down and stopped him at the twoyard line right before he could score. The Razorbacks looked set to reach the end zone, especially after pass interference was called on A&M cornerback Nick Harvey, ensuring them with another first down. But the Aggies were relentless and went on to stop the Razorbacks on the next seven plays — six of which were inside the two-yard line — and held them to a field goal. On the next series Trevor Knight and the A&M offense stalled yet again as they had been during the first quarter, and were forced to punt. Allen launched a deep ball to Keon Hatcher
who beat Harvey and came up with a 44-yard reception putting the ball on the A&M nine-yard line. On the next play Williams ran past the linebackers and was set to walk in for a touchdown which would’ve put Arkansas up by 10. When Williams stepped on the one-yard line Watts swooped in and stripped the ball. The football went up in the air and Watts recovered it. The maroon and white weren’t quite done making big stops inside the two-yard line. At the 10-minute mark of the third quarter, with the game tied at 17-17, Arkansas drove the ball down the field to the two-yard line yet again. Shaan Washington and the Aggies stopped the Razorbacks on first and goal, then on second, third and fourth down. Armani Watts made three tackles at the one yard line, preventing Arkansas from taking the lead. It was an incredible display of grit and athleticism from the junior safety. “It wasn’t just the fourth down stop it was three before that,” A&M head FOOTBALL ON PG. 2
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45-24
Trevor Knight accounted for 382 yards and four total touchdowns in the Aggies’ 45-24 win over Arkansas.
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POLITICS
A&M collects first SEC win of the season A&M volleyball gets first home win of the season against Tigers By Heath Clary @Heath_Clary
COURTESY Gage Skidmore
Donald Trump (left) and Hillary Clinton (right) will square off on Monday at the first presidential debate of the election season at Hofstra University.
First of 3 presidential debates promises unconventional night Trump, Clinton to face off at Hofstra University at 8 p.m. Monday By Chevall Pryce @ChevallP Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will meet at Hofstra University in New York for the first of the three of presidential debates. Although the debate will follow the standard format and questioning — 15 minutes per topic and 2 minutes for each response — Kirby Goidel, communication professor and fellow at the Public Policy Research Institute, said the debate will be unpredictable considering the goals of both politicians. While Clinton will be looking to establish credibility, Trump’s lack of background in politics creates an uncommon situation. “Trump always presents a wild card
factor in anything he’s a part of. The sort of normal thing that we might expect or look for in a debate are thrown out the window,” Goidel said. “I think the debate will almost certainly have some questions about the foundations of both candidates like Hillary Clinton’s trustworthiness, about Trump’s tendency to say comments that are easily refuted.” Although both candidates have their advantages, Clinton and Trump both have reasons that they could easily lose, according to Goidel. A simple comment or a focused attack on either candidate’s platform could be the killing blow and set the tone for the debate series. “Trump could easily win the debate with a one-liner or a zinging comment. His sort of general personality is sort of just taking over events and dominating the stage,” Goidel said. “Clinton could win it by appearing presidential, commanding the stage
Texas A&M entered its SEC home opener Sunday against Auburn in a bit of a slump. The Aggies (7-6, 1-1 SEC) had lost three straight matches, including two sweeps to top-five opponents and a close 3-2 loss to Alabama on Friday. They overcame those past struggles against Auburn, though, using a fast start, improved passing and 14 kills from Ashlie Reasor to propel them to a 3-0 sweep over the Tigers (7-8, 1-1 SEC). Junior setter Stephanie Aiple said that the Aggies’ strong finish in the Alabama match—when they won sets three and four and almost came back in the final set—gave them a positive mindset heading into Sunday. “At the end of the Alabama match, we were neck-and-neck with them, we were fighting hard, and even though we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted, we did take a lot of positives out of that match,” Aiple said. “I think that carried over to today.” Reasor, a junior opposite hitter from San Antonio, got going from the onset. She put the Aggies’ first two points on the board with kills and then recorded four more in the remainder of the first set, which A&M won 26-24. “She played amazing, and their defense kind of helped with that,” said Aiple, who played extremely well and racked up 34 assists. “They weren’t really sending two blockers with her too much, and so it made
Aimée Rodriguez — THE BATTALION
Junior libero Amy Nettles led the Aggies with 16 digs against Auburn.
my job easy and her job easy.” The two teams traded points early until the Aggies extended their lead to 17-10, but the Tigers didn’t go down easily. They slowly but surely chipped away at the Aggies’ lead until A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli was forced to call a timeout with the score 19-16. Auburn continued to come back and even took a 23-22 lead at one point, but a kill by Kaitlyn Blake tied it up, an Aiple kill put the Aggies up one and then freshman Hollann Hans finished it off with a kill of her own to put A&M up 1-0 in the match. VOLLEYBALL ON PG. 2
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BV AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM CELEBRATES NEW MUSEUM IN D.C. By Jena Seidemann @jena_seidemann
Jena Seidemann — THE BATTALION
The BV African American Museum celebrated the opening of an new arm of the Simthonian, focusing on African American culture.
History was made when the National Museum of African American History and Culture was opened Sept. 24 in the National Mall in Washington D.C. It is the first arm of the Smithsonian of its kind. While a ceremony was held in the nation’s capitol to mark the achievement, the Brazos Valley African American Museum held a small, local dedication ceremony for the occasion. “It is magnificent and the significance of the museum
— it is more than a museum, it is an arm of the Smithsonian, and the Smithsonian is the nation’s museum,” said Oliver Sadberry, curator of the Brazos Valley African American Museum and Class of 1971. “It has been a long time coming for the African American population to be wedded into Americana, and so that was a very important notion. Finally putting it all together. Anybody in this country can go to this museum.” Sadberry said the African American community has been part of the community since its first settlements. “In the beginning settlements, we were probably a BVAAM ON PG. 2