BC-U Home(coming) invasion

By BRENT WORONOFF, Daytona Beach News-Journal

DAYTONA BEACH -- Bethune-Cookman defensive back James Monds expected a tight, low-scoring ball game. And that's exactly what a Wildcats' homecoming crowd of 10,121 witnessed Saturday.

For the first half.

In the second half, B-CU ran into a buzz saw, and Morgan State cruised to a 33-9 victory at Municipal Stadium.

"Everything was happening so fast," said Monds, who scored the Wildcats' only touchdown, returning a blocked punt in the first quarter. "I was asking on the sideline, 'What happened? It was just 9-9. How is it 23-9?' "

Both teams had trouble generating any offense in the first half as they battled to a 9-9 halftime tie with B-CU scoring all of its points on special teams and Morgan State relying on a blocked punt and an interception for its two scores.

But while B-CU's offense continued to sputter and shoot itself in the foot in the second half, the Bears (2-3, 1-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) got on track, forcing the Wildcats (2-3, 0-3) into a desperation passing scheme before the end of the third quarter.

"We wanted to break them out of their offense," Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley said. "When a triple-option team has to go four and five wide, they're not going to be comfortable in that situation."

The Wildcats managed just 149 yards of offense and turned the ball over five times, including four interceptions.

"They have a good defense. That's why they're ranked No. 1 in our conference," B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt said. "They were just much better than us today."

The Bears scored on their first three possessions of the second half to take a 26-9 lead. James Devan's 65-yard run up the middle made it 33-9 with 4:17 left.

"It's just frustrating," said B-CU linebacker Ronnie McCullough, who had a game-high 20 tackles. "The defense played pretty good, but when the offense is struggling we just have to step it up."

The Bears moved ahead for good on their first possession of the second half, driving 55 yards on 12 plays with quarterback Byron Selby scoring on a 3-yard run. After holding B-CU on downs, Selby's 18-yard rollout pass to Robert Surratt made it 23-9.

A Matt Johnson interception then gave the Bears the ball at B-CU's 17, and James Meade kicked his second field goal to put the Bears up 26-9 with 9:55 left in the game.

"The difference was they got (the ball) in good field position," Wyatt said. "The score was tied, so they didn't have to be in a hurry to do anything. They took their time, and they just grinded the ball down the field on us."

The Wildcats held Chad Simpson, the MEAC's leading rusher with 798 yards, to 98 yards and no touchdowns.

Photo: MSU #2 Chad Simpson gains 98 yards on the Wildcats defense.
Now the Wildcats have to quickly regroup for a Thursday night game at MEAC leader Delaware State, a game that will be televised nationally by ESPNU.

"This was a difficult homecoming loss," McCullough said. "But we have to come right back. We're not going to fold up."

Questions & attitude

How was the officiating?

It may have cost Bethune-Cookman a victory last week at Norfolk State and caused the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to suspend three officials for one game, but it was not a factor in B-CU's 33-9 loss to Morgan State on Saturday.

The Bears were called for nine penalties for 88 yards, while the Wildcats were flagged six times for 63 yards, which is not a lot, but almost half as many yards as B-CU's offense produced in the game.

What's wrong with the offense?

You name it. The line struggled. The quarterbacks struggled. Running back Justin Brannon missed the game with a high ankle sprain, and without him, the Wildcats ran for just 47 yards. Quarterback Jimmie Russell, who came into the game with a team-high 358 yards rushing, was held to minus-4 yards on 16 carries Saturday. It didn't help that three B-CU quarterbacks combined for four interceptions.

If the Wildcats were so hapless on offense, how were they able to go into halftime with a 9-9 tie?
Morgan State's offense was just as bad in the first half. B-CU tallied 72 yards and converted 1 of 6 first downs, while Morgan State had just 68 yards and went 0 for 7 on first downs. And B-CU's defense played well, even in the second half, when it was on the field most of the time. The Wildcats had 10 tackles for losses in the game.

Jimmie Russell was replaced by Matt Souverain in both the first and second half. Is the quarterback job now up for grabs?

B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt said Russell is still the starting quarterback. Souverain is the quarterback the 'Cats use when they are far behind and forced to abandon the triple-option offense in favor of a four-wide receiver set.

Photo: BCU Marching Wildcat Band

TAKE FIVE

Representing South Florida

Morgan State has nearly as many players from South Florida as Bethune-Cookman does. The Bears boast 16 players from Broward and Dade counties, while the Wildcats have 21 from the South Florida area that produces so much gridiron talent.

Pick Four

Morgan State picked off four Bethune-Cookman passes in its 33-9 victory Saturday. Lamar West, Kofi Nkrumah, Kendall Jackson, and Dakota Bracey each grabbed an interception. Three different Wildcat quarterbacks contributed as Jimmie Russell threw two interceptions, and McKinson Souverain and Matt Johnson each misfired once. For Johnson, it was his first collegiate pass.

A Busy Day

B-CU linebacker Ronnie McCullough was one busy Wildcat. The senior who came to B-CU via South Florida registered 20 tackles, including six solo tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. It was the most tackles by a Wildcat since Jamal Muhammad had 20 in a loss to Morgan State in 2003.

Two Tough Points

B-CU's Ben Ballard scored two points the hard way. Ballard scooped up the football after Brendan Odom blocked a Morgan State point-after kick and went the distance for only the second PAT return in school history. Ballard's return gave B-CU a 9-6 lead with just under 6 minutes left in the first half.

Big Body

B-CU tried a different wrinkle early in the game by having 280-pound tackle De'Juan Guillory line up at fullback. Guillory made a couple of solid blocks, but wasn't a threat to carry the football.