Sunday, September 23, 2012

This time comeback falls short for Bethune-Cookman in 21-14 loss

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- In its first two games, Bethune-Cookman was able to spot its opponent a two- or three-touchdown lead before getting it together on both sides of the ball and rallying to victory.
The Wildcats looked like they would do it again Saturday.

But this time Tennessee State dominated on both the offensive and defensive lines and held B-CU scoreless in the second half to hand the Wildcats a 21-14 loss in front of 9,461 fans in their home opener Saturday at Municipal Stadium.

“We had some opportunities, we just didn't capitalize on them,'' said B-CU coach Brian Jenkins, whose squad lost its second straight game to fall to 2-2.

“Tennessee State stayed the course, and my hat's off to (TSU coach) Rod Reed and his staff. They were resilient. They were relentless.

B-CU fell behind 21-0 in the first half, just like it did against Alabama State in the season-opener. Then it got back into the game with two quick touchdowns in the final two minutes of the half. But the 'Cats moved past the Tigers' 42-yard line just once in the second half. On that occasion they failed to convert on fourth-and-three at the TSU 14 midway through the third quarter.



DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. — A.C. Leonard set the tone by catching an 80-yard pass on the second play from scrimmage.

Fellow sophomore Daniel Fitzpatrick intercepted a pass to set up one touchdown and scored another on a blocked kick return as Tennessee State held off Bethune-Cookman 21-14 Saturday at Municipal Stadium.

“Our kids perservered,” said Tigers coach Rod Reed, whose team improved to 4-0. “We have a lot of kids from the state of Florida. We have a lot of guys who know a lot of guys on their team. Both teams wanted to win this football game.”

Tennessee State dominated on both lines and held Bethune-Cookman (2-2) scoreless in the second half after the Wildcats scored twice in the final two minutes of the first half.

“We had some opportunities, we just didn’t capitalize on them,’’ said Wildcats coach Brian Jenkins. “Tennessee State stayed the course, and my hat’s off to Rod Reed and his staff. They were resilient. They were relentless.

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