Karsceal Turner – I Got NEXT!!
The skies opened up a little bit, there was a little rain, the turf was a tad slippery, but the Wildcats turned in a solid offensive and defensive effort to avenge their debacle against Norfolk State by bashing another Virginia-based team as they defeated Hampton University 42-12. It was a great send off for the team’s seniors.
Statement made early
B-CU has not lost consecutive regular season games to FCS opponents in the Brian Jenkins era. Dammit, it didn’t happen Saturday either. The Wildcats (9-2 overall, 6-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference ) defeated the Pirates (4-7,4-3) for the sixth consecutive time and set the stage for next week’s Florida Blue Florida Classic against Florida A&M determining their playoff destiny. A B-CU win over the Rattlers will give the Wildcats the MEAC’s automatic berth in the FCS playoff. Back to those snakes later.
Playing their last game at Municipal Stadium at Larry Kelly field were B-CU standouts; RB Isidore Jackson, Safety, Jarkevis Fields, Receiver, Eddie Poole, and QB Broderick Waters. Before the night was ended, each would make their mark once more in Daytona Beach.
Bethune-Cookman found the end zone twice in the first quarter – Jackie Wilson threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Cary White with 6:45 left on the clock to put the Wildcats up 7-0, before Wilson ran in from five yards out to put B-CU up 14-0 with 3:14 left in the quarter.
Freshman kicker Anthony Prevost (Chesterfield, Va.) got the Pirates on the board with 3:49 left in the half with a 34-yard field goal.
Quentin Williams put the Wildcats up 22-3 with 2:23 left in the half with a 1-yard touchdown run, followed by the two-point conversion from Broderick Waters.
Jackie Wilson had 74 yards rushing – his highest since a 113-yard effort against North Carolina Central in 2010 – when he left the game in the second quarter with an injury.
B-CU Defense holds its own
B-CU’s defense kept the Pirates out of the end zone until the final five minutes. The Pirates found the end zone with 5:26 left in the contest, when redshirt-freshman fullback Marcus Hampton scored from four yards out. Hampton cut the lead to 42-12 after the PAT failed. That was all she wrote for the Pirates, who did not score again.
For Hampton, Junior Jorrian Washington had 91 rushing yards on 14 carries. Freshman quarterback Bryan Bailey was 8-for-20 for 55 yards, Antwon Chisholm was good for 44 yards receiving. The Pirates fell to 4-7 on the season and 4-3 in MEAC play.
And now….The Florida Classic
The Wildcats bounced back from the home loss to Norfolk State and now, FINALLY can look forward towards those Rattlers of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. Damn everything which has happened up until this point. This is a totally different animal. Nothing matters besides beating that team wearing Orange and Green, and named for the serpents that used to inhabit the land on which the school is built. Beat-down also includes the Battle of the Bands.
Yes, we know FAMUs Marching 100 is back after a long hiatus, yes, we know FAMU is currently coming off a 29-21 home loss to Delaware State (You’ll recall how B-CU bashed the Hornets, I wrote about it).
Florida A&M holds a 20-10 edge in the meetings since the instate rivalry moved from a home-and-home scenario to an annual neutral site spectacular. Overall, the Rattlers lead the series, 48-15-1. Bethune-Cookman has made the series more competitive since 1973, winning 12 of its 15 series victories during that span, including a 58-52 overtime win in 2004, which was the first-ever three-game winning streak for the ‘Cats. Since the game has come to Orlando, FAMU has won nine of 13 games against B-CU, though the Wildcats have been victorious in four of the last eight.
The nation’s largest HBCU rivalry returns to Orlando on Saturday, November 23. The Florida A&M University Rattlers take on the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats for the 68th time and the 34th time as part of the Florida Blue Florida Classic. Kickoff is at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets to the game start at $15 and are available through Ticketmaster.com.
Regardless of all the publicity surrounding the contest, the Rattlers would love nothing better than to blast the Wildcats out of the Playoff race. I put in for my credentials early and you can look forward to me roaming the sidelines because especially at the Florida Classic, I Got NEXT!
