Sunday, October 17, 2010

FAMU shuts out Savannah State

Coach Joe Taylor has been hinting for more than a week that he would put the rest of the season in the hands of his running backs. On Saturday, senior Philip Sylvester and LaVante Page proved that Taylor might be on to something as they led a ground attack that carried Florida A&M to a 31-0 victory over Savannah State.

The victory was a prelude to a five-game stretch that the Rattlers must win to keep a meaningful place in the conversation about playing in the postseason.

FAMU blanks Savannah State, 31-0


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - For a time Saturday afternoon the Savannah State football team was living on the edge. The game against Florida A&M was in front of them if the Tigers could string together some first downs. But the Tigers (0-7) fell off the precipice following touchdowns on the Rattlers first two possessions of the third quarter. A manageable 10-point halftime deficit became insurmountable one as Savannah State fell 31-0.

Faithful fan keeps cheering through Rattlers' good times and bad

Right beneath the press box, where there is usually a lot of ruckus, it was eerily quiet for the first quarter. The shakers were near silent. No whistles blew like they usually do. Folks were wondering about their Florida A&M football team as former West Gadsden star quarterback Antonio Bostick got a nifty drive going before the Savannah State Tigers had to punt.

"I will cheer for you; hold that line," a lonely voice bellowed from the crowd just below the press box. "Hold that line."

FAMU's big plays make up for mistakes

Two possessions were all it took to wipe away a dissatisfying first half. Despite dominating in every statistical category Florida A&M led Savannah State just 10-0 at the half due to eight penalties, clock management issues and offensive ineffectiveness on third down.

The miscues even permeated to the officiating as an inadvertent whistle from the officials prevented FAMU from scoring what would have been a 90-yard punt return by T.J. Lawrence with two minutes remaining in the first half.

Coach Taylor predicts competitive MEAC season

As long as three months ago, coach Joe Taylor has been predicting that before the season is done, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference will turn out to be one of the most competitive among all Division I-AA.

Taylor was making his case again a few days before Saturday's matchup between Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State. Both teams went into the game with unbeaten records, but it's the Wildcats' 4-0 record that seems to validate Taylor's argument.

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Attendance: 8834


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