Bethune Cookman Holds Off FIU For Second-Ever FBS Win; Hail Mary Gives J-State a Win Over FAMU; Full Coverage of All HBCU Football From This Weekend

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Bethune Cookman's Quentin Williams (photo by Kim Gibson/flcourier.com)

Bethune Cookman not only proved that their 2013, first-ever FBS win was a fluke.  They served notice to the FCS football world that this is again a tough bunch of defensive Wildcats.

Bethune Cookman held off Florida International 14-12 for their second consecutive win over the FBS Panthers.  Bethune Cookman (1-0) gave up less than 200 yards of total offense to Florida International (0-1).

But it wasn't an easy game.

The Wildcats only accounted for slightly more than 230 yards of offense themselves.  Florida Internationl blew a potentially game winning 55-yard field goal when they muffed the snap.

"This game could have gone either way," Wildcats' head coach Brian Jenkins told the Daytona News Journal.  "It just so happens we came out on top."

Bethune Cookman's Michael Jones scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, set up after he hauled in a 46-yard pass from Quentin Williams.  FIU followed with two field goals to head into halftime 7-6.

Williams threw a 55-yard strike to Frank Brown on the second half's first drive to give Bethune Cookman a 14-6 lead.  It was also the last bit of offensive spark from the Wildcats.

Midway through the fourth quarter, FIU's Alex McGough flipped a five-yard touchdown to T.J. Lowder. Their two point conversion for the tie failed, leaving them down 14-12.

Then came their ill-fated field goal attempt to end the game.

"We have a resilient group and we came away with the win," Jenkis told the News Journal.  "But our hats are off to FIU.  They fought all the way to the end.  They are an improved team and good things are going to happen to that program."

Bethune Cookman is off this week before hosting Grambling on Sept. 13.  Florida International hosts Wagner Saturday.

Last Second Touchdown Pass Lifts Jackson State to 22-17 Win Over Florida A&M

JSU's DeSean McKenzie celebrates after catching the game-winning touchdown.  (Photo by Jackson State athletics/Tim Ward)

Lamontiez Ivy's 49-yard hail mary on the last play was snagged in the end zone by DeSean McKenzie, giving Jackson State a 22-17 win over Florida A&M.

The game came down to a wild last few minutes as Florida A&M seemingly put the game away with a one-yard touchdown pass from Damien Fleming to Gerald Hearns with 46 seconds remaining in the game, giving the Rattlers a 17-16 lead.

But after driving down to the FAMU 44 as seconds ticked away, Jackson State decided to go for a game-winning TD instead of a field goal.  Fleming's pass was tipped a couple of times before falling into McKenzie's hands as time expired.

Jackson State (1-0) hosts Virginia-Lynchburg Saturday while Florida A&M (0-1) visits ACC power Miami.

Morgan State Comes Up Just Short At Eastern Michigan, 31-28

Eastern Michigan running back Ryan Brumfield

Eastern Michigan's running game accounted for nearly 300 yards while their defense held off a game Morgan State squad to defeat the Bears 31-28.

Morgan State's Robert Council threw a third quarter, 75-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Martin that completed a 21-point swing, giving the Bears a 28-21 lead. All three touchdowns came on Council touchdown tosses.  But a few minutes later, Ryan Brumfield, part of a three-man bruising Eastern Michigan ground game, countered with his second touchdown run, a 14-yarder, to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter.

EMU's Dylan Mulder nailed a 42-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles the 31-28 lead.  Morgan State attempted a 60-yard field goal on the game's final play, but missed.

EMU's Brunson Hill led the Eagles ground game with 114 yards rushing, while Darius Jackson added 73 yards and a touchdown. Brumfield finished with 56 yards and touchdown.  Council had 269 yards passing and 71 yards on the ground. Lamont Brown III had a big game, with 124 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Eastern Michigan (1-0) goes to SEC territory when they play Florida Saturday while Morgan State (0-1) goes to Holy Cross.

Tennessee State Floods Edward Waters 58-6

TSU running back Tom Smith (photo by TSU sports information)

Not even torrential rain could stop home-standing Tennessee State as they bombarded Edward Waters 58-6 in the soaked John A. Merritt Classic.

In a game swamped with a four-quarter rain storm that started as the teams lined up for kickoff, Tom Smith rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns. Tennessee State (1-0) racked up a team-record 439 yards on the ground.   All-American Anthony Bass led the Tigers defense which only allowed 76 yards of offense to Edward Waters (1-0).  Bass had four tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for losses and an interception.

Smith was named the Ohio Valley Conference's Newcomer of the Week for his performance while Bass was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.

Tennessee State visits Alabama State in the Inaugural Classic Saturday while Edward Waters hosts Morehouse.

Here are the rest of the HBCU football scores and highlights from over the weekend:


SWAC

- Lamar 42, Grambling 27 (Lamar scored 28 unanswered points to break open a one-point, second quarter game)
- Alcorn State 55, Virginia-Lynchburg 7 (Alcorn State rolled up 559 yards of total offense, 331 of them on the ground)
- Texas State 65, Arkansas Pine Bluff 0 (Texas State had nearly 700 yards of offense, including 278 yards passing and four touchdowns by Tyler Jones)
- Sam Houston State 51, Alabama State 20 (Jared Johnson threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns while Donavan Williams and Jalen Overstreet both had 83 yards rushing for 16th-ranked Sam Houston State)
- Lousiana-Lafayette 45, Southern 6 (Lousiana Lafayette's Elijah McGuire 123 yards rushing and touchdown while Terrance Broadway threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns)
- Mississippi Valley State 32, University of Faith 7 (In Rick Comegy's debut as Delta Devils coach, MVSU scored 32 unanswered points after falling behind early. Jerrell Moore had 116 yards rushing and a touchdown)
- Texas Southern 37, Prairie View A&M 35 (From the end of the second quarter through the end of the third quarter, TSU ran off 21-unanswered points to hold off Prairie View)

MEAC

- Arkon 41, Howard 0 (Akron shut down the Bison offense, including All-MEAC quarterback Greg McGhee who had less than 100 yards of total offense)
- South Carolina State 63, Benedict 0 (Adrian Kollock Jr. finished 15-for-18 passing with 160 yards along with a 39-yard touchdown run for the Bulldogs)
- North Carolina A&T 47, Alabama A&M 13 (Tarik Cohen had 161 yards rushing and two touchdowns for A&T)   
- Old Dominion 41, Hampton 28 (Hampton's Jaylian Williamson had 407 yards passing and three touchdowns in the loss in new Pirates coach Connell Maynor's debut)
- East Carolina 52, North Carolina Central 7 (ECU quarterback Shane Carden
- Maine 10, Norfolk State 6 (Norfolk State only mustered 100 yards of total offense against the 25th ranked Black Bears. But the Spartans were tough too, holding Maine to less than 200 yards of offense themselves)
- Monmouth 52, Delaware State 21 (After taking the game's opening kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown and leading by seven heading into the second quarter, the Hornets were outscored 45-7)