B-CU to see some familiar faces at NSU

By BRENT WORONOFF, Daytona Beach News Journal

The way Bobbie Williams remembers it, one day three Bethune-Cookman assistant football coaches were on campus, the next day they weren't.

It happened shortly after the 2004 season when B-CU defensive coordinator Pete Adrian was named head coach at Norfolk State and he took three other assistants -- Kirk Mastromatteo, Mark DeBastiani and Jeff Parker -- with him.

"One day they were here, the next day they were gone," said Williams, B-CU's All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference free safety. "They did what they had to do. We were fine without them."

When the Wildcats face the Spartans at Norfolk State today, Williams said it will be just another conference game. But the numbers say otherwise. Since Adrian has been at Norfolk, the two teams have played two dramatic nailbiters that were decided by a total of three points.

And Williams saved the victory for the 'Cats both times. In 2005, he pushed Brandon Books out of bounds as the Norfolk quarterback tried to run in a two-point conversion that would tie the score in the fourth overtime. Williams' stop gave B-CU a 63-61 marathon victory.

Last year, Williams intercepted Casey Hansen's pass with 1:45 left to clinch the Wildcats' 22-21 triumph. It was Williams' third pick of the day.

"It's just a coincidence that every time we've played them I've had one of my best games," Williams said.

Photo: BCU All-American Safety Bobbie Williams

B-CU quarterback Jimmie Russell has also had two straight outstanding games against the Spartans, but unlike Williams, he doesn't see Norfolk State as just "a regular opponent."

"This one has added incentive because of the circumstances involved," Russell said.

Two years ago, B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt refused to shake hands with Adrian after the game. The following offseason, the two head coaches, who had worked together for eight years, smoothed over their differences.

"These guys are my best friends," Wyatt said this week of his three former assistants. "We've been through a lot of wars together, and we understand each other."

That familiarity is one of the reasons the past two games have been so closely contested, the coaches say.

"Just as they know how we think, we know how they think," Adrian said.

"We kind of know what the other is going to do," Wyatt agreed.

In such a game, Wyatt said, the difference usually comes down to a turnover or a crucial special teams play.

But the focus is on offensive and defensive playmakers, such as Williams and Russell and Norfolk State quarterback Hansen and linebacker Maguell Davis. And while the coaching staffs know each other so well, when it comes to familiarity in personnel, the edge goes to the Spartans.

For example, when Adrian watches Russell on film, he sees the same quarterback he saw every day on the practice field three years ago.

"He's the kind of guy you might stop eight plays in a row, but on the ninth play he might be standing in the end zone," Adrian said. "The kid is a great competitor, and he's always been a great competitor."

Playing with a knee brace last week to protect a strained medial collateral ligament, Russell rushed for three touchdowns and accounted for 177 yards of total offense as the Wildcats trounced Savannah State 45-13.

Photo: BCU QB Jimmie Russell

This week the stakes are higher as the Wildcats try to halt a four-game MEAC losing streak that began last season, and the Spartans try to take a step forward after finishing 4-7 the past two years.

B-CU (2-1) at Norfolk State (1-1)

KICKOFF: 4 p.m.
RADIO: WELE (1380 AM)
va2WHERE: Dick Price Stadium, Norfolk, Va.
KICKOFF: 4 p.m.
RADIO: 1380-AM
RECORDS: Bethune-Cookman 2-1, 0-1 MEAC; Norfolk St. 1-1, 0-0
SERIES: B-CU leads 12-5

PLAYMAKERS: B-CU -- QB Jimmie Russell, Sr., has six of the Wildcats' seven rushing touchdowns and has accumulated 508 yards of total offense; WR Joe Singleton, Jr., has six catches for 126 yards (21 ypc); FS Bobbie Williams, Sr., leads the 'Cats with 25 tackles and has one interception. LB/DE Josh Balloon, Sr., has five tackles for losses. Norfolk State -- QB Casey Hansen, Sr., has passed for 353 yards with two interceptions and no TDs; RB Daryl Jones, Sr., has rushed for 163 yards and two TDs; LB Maguell Davis, Sr., has two tackles for losses and an interception.

ETC: This is Norfolk State's first game against a Division I-AA team. The Spartans beat Division II Virginia State 33-7 in Week 1 and were overwhelmed by nationally-ranked Division I-A Rutgers 59-0 last week. B-CU has won nine straight over Norfolk, but the past two by just a combined three points.

DID YOU KNOW: This is the second time this season that B-CU is playing a MEAC opponent that had played against a Division I-A squad the previous week.The 'Cats met South Carolina State the week after the Bulldogs played at Air Force and are now playing Norfolk the week after the Spartans played at Rutgers.

BCU Marching Wildcats