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Showing posts with label Bethune Cookman University Wildcats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bethune Cookman University Wildcats. Show all posts
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Jackie Wilson ran for three touchdowns and passed for 186 yards as Bethune-Cookman treated a near-capacity crowd of 9,649 to a 49-23 homecoming victory over Morgan State today at Municipal Stadium.
Jonathan Moment added two touchdown runs, including a 28-yard scamper that gave the Wildcats a 14-10 halftime lead. The Wildcats turned the game into a rout with three third-quarter touchdowns, including Wilson's 45-yard run with 26 seconds left in the quarter that put B-CU up 35-10.
The Wildcats, 6-3, 4-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, won their fourth consecutive game while knocking Morgan State (5-4, 4-2) out of first place in the MEAC standings. Isidore Jackson led the Wildcats in rushing with 93 yards and added a touchdown run. Moment added 78 yards rushing, while Wilson ran for 74 yards.
DAYTONA BEACH -- Quarterback Jackie Wilson was nearly beat out for the starting spot last week in practice. Fullback Johnathan Moment was told he'd have a greater role than usual Saturday.
The duo combined for five touchdowns as Bethune-Cookman rolled up 476 yards of offense, including 290 on the ground, to dispatch Morgan State 49-23 Saturday in front of a homecoming crowd of 9,649 at Municipal Stadium.
B-CU's fourth consecutive victory kept alive its slim hopes of claiming a piece of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title for the second year in a row.
Now the Wildcats (6-3, 4-2 MEAC) will become big Morgan State fans for a week. A victory by the Bears (5-4, 4-2) over Norfolk State next week would force a multiple-team tie for first place with two losses apiece.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- After South Carolina State's 26-18 win over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, tears welled up in Bulldogs coach Buddy Pough's eyes as he stood with his team in front of Municipal Stadium's visiting bleachers listening to the band play the school's alma mater.
On the other side of the field, some B-CU players were ready to walk away when senior linebacker Ryan Lewis reminded them that they too must stand in front of their fans for the Wildcats band to play the alma mater.
"It's showing respect to our school, our alumni and our founder," Lewis said. "Win, lose or draw, we finish the game with the school alma mater. That's how we finish games. I let the guys know we still had to do that, regardless."
Lewis knew his teammates weren't trying to show any disrespect. They just weren't sure exactly what to do in such a situation. Since Brian Jenkins became head coach before last season, losing has been that rare.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - It was about as close as you could get to a heavyweight championship fight taking place on a football field Saturday at Municipal Stadium.
For 3-1/2 quarters, South Carolina State took Bethune-Cookman's best offensive shots and were out-pointed both on the scoreboard and the statistics department. Yet the defense enabled the Bulldogs to maintain a puncher's chance late in the nationally televised contest.
With S.C. State holding a one-point lead with four minutes left, the Wildcats prepared to land the knockout punch. Instead, the Bulldogs countered with a lethal blow in the form of Dominique Ellis' 55-yard interception return for a touchdown which sealed a 26-18 victory over Bethune-Cookman in a matchup of two of last year's three co-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions.
"I actually knew it was coming," Ellis said. "They had ran it on me earlier. I played it bad. I knew from the whole jump. I knew it! I knew it from film study. (Defensive coordinator Mike Adams) had us ready."
DAYTONA BEACH -- Brian Jenkins picked up a stat sheet and read the numbers out loud again and again. "We had 397 total yards. They had 211," Bethune-Cookman's coach said. "We had 245 passing. They had 54." If was as if he was trying to make sense of it all.
B-CU dominated the stat sheet but lost the battle as South Carolina State relied on special teams and defense to rally past the Wildcats 26-18 in a key Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game Saturday before a near-capacity crowd of 9,463 at Municipal Stadium.
The Wildcats, normally as adept at holding onto the ball as they are at knocking it away from their opponents, had five turnovers. The big one was Dominique Ellis's 55-yard interception return for a touchdowns with 4 minutes left to give the Bulldogs a 26-18 lead.
B-CU quarterback Jamarr Robinson, who threw three of his four interceptions in the second half, was picked off a final time with 25 seconds left in the game.
DAYTONA BEACH -- Coaches never forget big games. And they never forget any and every small detail of big losses.
In the moments immediately after such occasions, it's hard to hide the honest emotions, which explains why Brian Jenkins gave a quick but definitive jab to the makeshift table in front of him as he worked through his post-game press conference Saturday night.
"Two plays . . . two plays," Jenkins said just before delivering a blow to the table.
He was thinking back to a pair of late-game punt returns his team gave up -- two returns brought about by missed assignments, Jenkins said. Jenkins, a stickler for detail, isn't high on missed assignments. When they lead to touchdowns, which lead to defeat, what you get is a head coach who, through 14 games at Bethune-Cookman, has never been this frustrated after a game.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough has tried to play down the magnitude of today's 4 p.m. matchup with Bethune-Cookman.
WHERE: Municipal Stadium KICKOFF: 4 p.m. Cable TV: 10:30 p.m., ESPNU (tape) Internet TV: ESPN3 LIVE@ 4 p.m. RADIO: WELE (1380 AM) RECORDS: S.C. State 0-1, 0-0 MEAC; B-CU 1-0, 0-0 COACHES: S.C. State, Buddy Pough, 10th year (76-30); B-CU, Brian Jenkins, second year (11-2)
"I think we've got to look at it as a regular-season conference game and let things play out as they will," Pough said of the teams' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener at Municipal Stadium. "There are good enough teams in the conference that probably neither one of us will get through unscathed."
But B-CU coach Brian Jenkins describes the contest as a heavyweight fight, "like Ali-Frazier."
Neither coach's comments should be taken at face value, however. To Jenkins, all the games are heavyweight fights. "Every game is a big game," he said. "Our first game (a 63-14 rout of Prairie View A&M on Sunday) was a big game. To us, all our opponents are the same. We prepare for them the same."
Orangeburg, S.C. - Long hours watching film is usually the norm for South Carolina State defensive coordinator Mike Adams.
Preparing a game plan for Saturday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener against an explosive Bethune-Cookman offense, now under the direction of former Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence, has only further extended Adams' time spent the past seven days in his Rowe Hall office.
"It's definitely been a long week," he said. "You don't want to leave anything uncovered when it comes to preparing for these guys. It's a situation where although they had a lot of success against Prairie View in their opener (Bethune-Cookman amassed 500 total yards and scored seven touchdowns in a 63-14 win in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge this past Sunday).
Daytona Beach, FL - Rivals' FlaVarsity.com recently released its top 160 football prospects for the class of 2012. While several of the recruits have already verbally committed to colleges, many others are mulling their choices and waiting for more offers.
Three players on the elite list -- Dondre Daley, Chris Murray and Elijah McClendon -- say Bethune-Cookman is among their top choices. The Wildcats and coach Brian Jenkins do not shy away from recruiting the top prospects in the state and have achieved several recruiting victories over bigger schools. But once a smaller school ventures into this stratosphere, the competition is pretty tough.
"If Bethune-Cookman gets two of the top 100 players in Florida, that's awesome," Sporting News recruiting reporter Brian McLaughlin said. Before National Signing Day in February, the Wildcats may be in the hunt for more of the state's top prospects.
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - So much changes during the course of the FCS season that it's dangerous for people to look too far down any team's schedule and say, "Win here, loss here...," and believe they have everything figured out.
For instance, did anybody have Bethune-Cookman winning 10 straight games to start last season? Did anybody foresee Georgia Southern reaching the FCS semifinals? Did anybody leave Montana out of the playoffs?
Of course, there are staples on the schedule that everybody can feel comfortable in saying will shape the regular season. Following are 10 such games for the 2011 FCS season:
South Carolina State at Bethune-Cookman (Sept. 10) - Last season, these two teams provided the MEAC with two FCS playoff participants for the first time since 2003. Neither one can afford to give the other the upper hand in its first conference game of the season, but the loser will.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In a span of three-consecutive pitches in the seventh inning, No. 2 UCF scored five runs and eventually plated 13 runs in the final three innings to defeat No. 4 Bethune-Cookman, 16-5, in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Saturday. It was the most runs scored in a game by the Knights (39-22) in their NCAA Tournament history.
UCF advances to Sunday's noon game and will await the loser of Saturday night's contest between No. 1 Florida State and No. 3 Alabama. If the Knights rumble with FSU, the game will air on Sun Sports.
"I'm very proud of the effort of our guys," said head coach Terry Rooney. "We faced an outstanding Bethune-Cookman club, a team that we played (twice) during the year and their starting pitcher did a tremendous job. But our guys continued to battle throughout the day. I thought Danny Winkler pitched fantastic. He was incredible."
A day after combining to go 1-for-15 vs. Alabama, Beau Taylor, D.J. Hicks, Jonathan Griffin and Derek Luciano all tore apart Wildcat (36-25) pitching. The quartet went 13-for-21 with 11 RBI, 11 runs and five extra-base hits. Hicks and Griffin each collected four hits, with Griffin driving in five to tie a UCF record for most RBI in a NCAA Tournament game.
Griffin crushed his 19th home run of the season as well, putting him in sole possession of second on the UCF single-season chart. He trails only Chris Duffy, who belted 21 four-baggers last year. The senior also has 32-career homers in just two seasons as a Knight to place him in a tie for sixth in UCF history.
Winkler was on his way to possibly his best outing of the season, pitching 5.2 shutout innings with just two hits against and six strikeouts. Yet two errors on a single play with nobody on base and two outs in the sixth inning led to four unearned runs to help the Wildcats eliminate a 3-0 deficit, and Winkler's day was over.
"I just stuck to my game plan like I've been doing the last couple of weeks," said Winkler. "I was getting ahead early, but I wasn't happy with (my slider). So I was trying to command my fastball. And with their starting going like he was, that kept me in it so I kept pounding the zone."
The Wildcats decided to start righty Rayan Gonzalez on the mound vs. the Knights. And the junior surrendered three-straight one-out singles in the top of the first to Taylor, Hicks and Griffin with Griffin driving in Taylor on a chopper over the head of third baseman Emmanuel Castro.
Given an early 1-0 lead, Winkler proceeded to limit Bethune-Cookman to just one hit in the first three innings, striking out five. That was highlighted by the right-hander sitting down the side on strikes in the third. Winkler then stranded a pair of runners with one out in the fourth.
UCF was unable to build its advantage on the scoreboard due to Gonzalez mowing down the Knights. They did have a two-out opportunity after Darnell Sweeney singled to center and Ronnie Richardson drew a walk, however the B-CU right-hander picked up his eighth strikeout of the game to return to the dugout.
Although Gonzalez motored through to get to the sixth inning, his pitch count was well into triple figures after UCF finally got the big hit it had been searching for all day long. As Griffin stood in the on-deck circle, he witnessed Hicks drive a 3-2 pitch into right for a leadoff single. The first baseman strode to the plate and quickly fell behind 0-2. And for some reason he did not like his mugshot on the left-field scoreboard, so he attempted to alter it by demolishing a 1-2 offering that came within a few feet of his face for a two-run homer.
Now jogging out to the hill with a 3-0 lead in the sixth, Winkler, who had thrown just 61 pitches, continued to cruise, getting the first two outs and inducing Peter O'Brien to send a lazy fly ball to left-center. That was when the state of the game changed, as there was miscommunication in the UCF outfield. Two errors on the play led to a hit by pitch and two walks to bring in the Wildcats' first run.
Videographer: flstateseminoles; FSU Baseball defeats Bethune-Cookman 6-5 in Tallahassee Regional on June 3, 2011.
Winkler tried to get that crucial third out, but Brashad Johnson delivered a two-run, two-out, two-strike single into left to tie it up at 3-3. Nick Cicio entered earlier than expected from the pen, and DJ Leonard sent his second pitch to left for a RBI single.
All of a sudden down 4-3, the UCF bats were not concerned by their newly-found one-run hole. A pair of two-strike singles by Sweeney and Richardson greeted reliever Chris Anselmo in the seventh, and although Taylor failed to get a sac bunt down, he ripped a 1-2 pitch off the high fence in right for a long single to load the bases.
Similar to Bethune-Cookman taking advantage of its scoring chance in the previous inning, the Knights were not going to let this one slip away either.
Freshman Bryan Rivera was called in from the B-CU bullpen and the southpaw threw only three pitches in his appearances. All of them resulted in RBI hits, as Hicks punched a single between first and second, Griffin dropped a two-run double into left and Luciano lined a two-run single up the middle. That was it for Rivera, who gave way to Gabriel Hernandez, and the Knights tacked on three more runs highlighted by RBI from Travis Shreve and Sweeney.
With the eight-run inning complete, UCF added a four more in the eighth to stretch the lead to 15-5. Kick-started by a double out of Taylor, Hicks drove in the catcher on a single, Griffin walked on five pitches and Luciano socked a two-run double into the right-field corner. And with the sun beating down onto Dick Howser Stadium, lightning was detected which delayed play for 3:20. When play ultimately resumed, Luciano eventually scored UCF's 15th run on a wild pitch. To close out the offense, Kevin Vasquez drew a RBI walk with two outs in the ninth, and Bryan Brown tossed the final 2.0 innings to send UCF back to the hotel in a jolly mood.
Game Notes
No. 2 UCF - 39-22 Overall
No. 4 Bethune-Cookman - 36-25 Overall
-The game featured a 3:20 hour weather delay with no outs in the top of the eighth inning.
-Saturday marked the 83rd meeting between UCF and Bethune-Cookman, but the first in the NCAA Tournament.
-It was UCF's first NCAA Tournament victory since defeating Florida State, 7-5, June 6, 2004.
-UCF had not committed more than one error in a game since two miscues vs. Houston May 1 (a span of 16 games). But the Knights had two errors Saturday.
-The eight-run seventh inning was the biggest inning in an NCAA Tournament game in school history. It also matched an overall postseason record as UCF scored eight runs in an Atlantic Sun Tournament game vs. Centenary in 1996.
-UCF set a school record for most runs in an NCAA Tournament contest, and tied the school mark with 20 hits (also had 20 vs. Princeton May 25, 2001). The Knights posted at least 20 hits in a game for the second time this year (20 at UAB May 15).
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Mike McGee registered the game-winning hit in the eighth inning and the first-seeded Florida State baseball team defeated fourth-seeded Bethune-Cookman Friday night in the second game of the 2011 NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
FSU (43-17) has now won 11 consecutive NCAA Regional games and moves to the winner's bracket where it will face third-seeded Alabama (34-26) Saturday at 6 p.m. The Wildcats (36-24) take on UCF (38-22) Saturday noon in an elimination contest. McGee's RBI single to right field unlocked a 5-5 tie as his timely hit scored Taiwan Easterling for the go-ahead run.
Brian Busch (6-2) earned the win for the Seminoles while Daniel Bennett moved into a tie for second place in FSU history for saves in a season with 15. Busch wound up pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief and gave up no hits or runs and struck out four.
Starter Scott Garner took the loss for B-CU, going five innings and allowing 10 hits five earned runs before being replaced by Roman Lancara in the bottom of the sixth. Seminoles starter Hunter Scantling lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out a career-high-tying seven batters.
TALLAHASSSEE, FL -- Four home runs weren't enough to lift Bethune-Cookman over host Florida State in the Wildcats' opening game of the NCAA tournament, as they fell 6-5. The four homers were the most FSU has given up all year. But for the Wildcats, the effort was just another close call against a national seed in a first-round regional game.
"I don't like being the first one here," B-CU head coach Mervyl Melendez said during his postgame press conference (the winning team goes second at NCAA events). "I would have much rather followed Florida State, but I thought our guys fought hard."
First baseman Ryan Durrence led the way for B-CU going 3-for-4 with two home runs, including a solo shot to tie the game at 5-all in top of the sixth inning. Center fielder Mike McGee delivered the game-winning hit for FSU in the top of the eighth on an RBI-single to center field to put the Seminoles ahead 6-5. Closer Daniel Bennett pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close it out for his 15th save of the year.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Bethune-Cookman head coach Brian Jenkins hired a new quarterbacks coach, but for now he is still handling the offensive coordinator duties himself.
Jenkins hired Joe Dailey, the recruiting coordinator at Kansas under head coach Turner Gill last year, to replace Danny Barrett as QB coach. Barrett left last month to become an assistant coach at UCF. Jenkins said he likes what he has seen of Dailey so far in early spring drills.
"He's a very detailed coach, very passionate and a good recruiter," Jenkins said. "I'm very excited from what I've seen from him on the practice field."
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Bethune-Cookman coach Clifford Reed thought his team "lacked passion . . . and toughness" in a disappointing 68-56 loss Saturday to Hampton at Moore Gymnasium.
"There's no excuse for our guys to come out flat and not play hard," Reed said.
Bethune-Cookman fell to 10-9, 5-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as it lost its first conference game and first game at home this season. In their first home conference game, the Wildcats never led and were only able to tie the score twice. Reed said the home letdown wasn't a surprise.
Charles Funches scored the game’s first nine points on 3-pointers, and Hampton University never trailed during a 68-56 victory Saturday at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Pirates (15-4, 5-1), who have won three straight games, moved into a tie for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lead with B-CU's Wildcats (10-9, 5-1), whose five MEAC wins all came on the road.
After leading 34-23 at halftime, the Pirates poured it on. Kwame Morgan scored six points during a 10-3 run, and Wesley Dunning scored four in an 11-3 push to put HU in front 55-32 with 10:52 remaining.
PRINCESS ANNE, MD -- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team tried to make a late second-half comeback, but fell short 71-64 on Monday to Bethune-Cookman. The Hawks trailed Bethune-Cookman 38-28 at halftime. UMES outscored Bethune-Cookman 36-33 in the second half.
Tyler Hines led the Hawks with 19 points, and also grabbed six rebounds. Hillary Haley chipped in with 12 points in the loss.
PRINCESS ANNE, MD -- Paced by guard Casey Morton matching her career high of 24 points, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team cruised to a 69-52 win over Bethune-Cookman in the first game of Monday's matinee doubleheader. The win was their second in a row and second straight at home.
"I'm Casey's biggest critic, so I always look at her turnovers," said UMES head coach Fred Batchelor. "I look and say she had too many turnovers in any given game, but the fact is when she puts the ball in the basket, she makes us a better team. When she can control the ball and take care of it and get us going, we go when she goes."
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. -- C.J. Reed and Garrius Holloman scored 15 points each as Bethune-Cookman defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore 71-64 on Monday to remain unbeaten in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. The Wildcats (10-8, 5-0) led by 14 points, 47-33, less than 5 minutes into the second half, but the Hawks (4-13, 1-3) didn't fold, coming within a point, 49-48, after a 15-2 run that included two 3-pointers by Dishawn Bradshaw -- his only 3-pointers in 10 attempts.
The Hawks trailed by two, 62-60 with 1:53 to play, but a layup by Reed made it 64-60, and Stanley Elliott, Javoris Bryant and Holloman each hit two free throws for Bethune-Cookman down the stretch.
Undrafted out of Bethune-Cookman. Cut in training camp. Nearly a season a half on the practice squad. All of Eric Weems' struggles to become an NFL player were validated Tuesday, as the former Seabreeze and Bethune-Cookman standout -- and now current Atlanta Falcons special teams ace -- was named to NFC roster for the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl as a specialist.
Videographer: tonypanzarella: Eric Weems 12/05/10 103 Yard Return
Joining Weems in the Jan. 30 game in Honolulu will be former Wildcats teammate Nick Collins, a Green Bay Packers cornerback who was selected to the NFL's all-star game for the third straight season.
The pair will become the first from B-CU to play in the same Pro Bowl, and Weems becomes just the fifth Wildcat to be selected for the game, joining Collins, Rashean Mathis, Larry Little and Cy McClairen.
The Atlanta Falcons, who have the NFC’s best record at 12-3, placed an NFL-best seven players on the National Football Conference All-Star team that will face the American Football Conference All-Stars in the 2011 Pro Bowl – the kickoff to Super Bowl week – the NFL announced today.
The 2011 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii one week before Super Bowl XLV in North Texas. Broadcast live on FOX at 7:00 PM ET, the Pro Bowl will be held prior to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year and serve as the signature kickoff event of Super Bowl week.
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers will send five players – left tackle Chad Clifton, safety Nick Collins, wide receiver Greg Jennings, outside linebacker Clay Matthews and cornerback Charles Woodson – to Hawaii for the 2011 Pro Bowl.
But three players who arguably deserved to be on that list as well – or instead – were snubbed: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, cornerback Tramon Williams and nose tackle B.J. Raji.
Jefferson quarterback Quentin Williams (oral commitment toBethune-Cookman) runs for two touchdowns and throws for three more.
Quentin Williams was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football Friday afternoon. Then he went out and showed the announced crowd of 2,908 at the Citrus Bowl for the Class 3A Florida High School Athletic Association football final exactly why he deserved the award.
Williams ran for two touchdowns and threw for three more as Tampa Jefferson (15-0) defeated Miami Norland (13-2) 44-34 to win its first state championship in a game stopped with 3 seconds remaining after a fight broke out. Williams finished with 73 yards rushing and connected on 11-of-16 passes for 151 yards.
"It's a great feeling, a great blessing," Williams said about being Florida's top football player. "But, it's even better to know that we are state champions."
JEFFERSON'S WILLIAMS WINS STATE'S TOP FOOTBALL AWARD
Quentin Williams has made a verbal commitment to Bethune-Cookman University, his mother's alma mater, but said he's planning January recruiting trips to Ohio University and Florida International University.
Jefferson High senior quarterback Quentin Williams was named Florida's Mr. Football on Friday, becoming the third Hillsborough County player in history to win the state's highest honor.
Williams, the Class 3A player of the year, had 137 points in a vote of high-school football coaches and media representatives, outdueling Demetrius Hart of Class 6A Orlando Dr. Phillips (128 points). Plant running back/defensive player James Wilder, the top Class 5A player, was third with 119 points.
Other Hillsborough County players to become Mr. Football were Robinson running back Zain Gilmore (1997) and Plant quarterback Robert Marve (2006).
HAMPTON — Going into halftime, Donovan Rose's Hampton University team had a seven-point lead on undefeated Bethune-Cookman, the No. 11 team in the country, a team that hadn't trailed all season and was putting up 44 points a game. "I felt great," Rose said.
Rose's happiness lasted 19 seconds into the second half, until the first of two turnovers-turned-touchdowns in a span of 3:04 swung the momentum and the outcome in the Pirates' 23-18 loss to the Wildcats on Saturday at Armstrong Stadium.
HAMPTON — When they pen the epitaph of Hampton University's 2010 football season, it will read something like: Here lies a team whose offense was too often inoffensive and whose special teams were anything but. On a day when the Pirates' gallant defense again played well enough to win, the offense and special teams again cost them a chance at a signature victory and a share of first place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Instead, the Pirates go back to the training room and the video room for a heaping helping of "What if …" after Saturday's 23-18 loss to league leader Bethune-Cookman.
HAMPTON — David Legree dressed out for Saturday's homecoming game against Bethune-Cookman, but Hampton's starting junior quarterback in no way expected to play. In fact, with junior Herb Bynes leading the Pirates down the field early in the second quarter, Legree's thoughts strayed to the locker room.
"Herb was playing so good, I was two plays from going to take off my equipment," said Legree, who aggravated lingering right leg injuries last week.
HAMPTON, VA – Hampton University looked to do something it had not done since 2006: win its Homecoming game. Celebrating Senior Day in front of a crowd of over 12,000 fans, the Pirates fell short yet again against the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University on Saturday. The Wildcats used an explosive second half to come out on top 23-18 at Armstrong Stadium.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Followers of college football's second tier (formerly Division I-AA; formally the Football Championship Subdivision) have likely been wondering about what's behind Bethune-Cookman's turnaround this season.
They'll get their best chance yet to take a look for themselves tonight as B-CU, ranked 12th in the national FCS poll, plays North Carolina A&T at Daytona Beach's Municipal Stadium, and the game will be televised live on ESPN's college-dedicated channel, ESPNU.
"It's still football," B-CU coach Brian Jenkins said. "You still have to play on a 100-yard field between the white lines. It hasn't disrupted us at all. We're getting prepared for the game and will be ready to play."
The North Carolina A&T football team earned its first win of the season on Oct. 23 with a 52-32 victory over Howard. The win ends a 10-game losing streak for the Aggies and is their first since defeating Howard 30-19 on Oct. 24, 2009. "More excited for them to see the hard work and all those things pay off because they have been working hard," said head coach Alonzo Lee. "They have been getting out there doing great things."
The star of the game for the Aggies was George Hines, the standout outfielder for the Aggies baseball team. He started for the second consecutive game on Saturday after making his debut in last weeks lost to Delaware State. Hines went 12-16 passing for 235 yards and three touchdowns, crediting the coaching staff for his preparation and knowing where the Bison defense would be.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Bethune-Cookman's perfect run continued Saturday with a 23-10 win over North Carolina Central at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. But it wasn't a thing of beauty, according the first-year Wildcats coach Brian Jenkins.
"A win is a win," Jenkins said. "We'll take it. It was ugly. We didn't play very well offensively. Thank God for our defense. My hat goes off to North Carolina Central. They played a tough physical football game, which I knew they would."
The 14th-ranked Wildcats needed a fourth-quarter scoring surge to put away N.C. Central and improve to 7-0. NCCU (2-5), which joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference this season but is not yet eligible for the conference championship, lost its third straight game.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Bethune-Cookman won its first five football games of 2010 with offense, but for the second week in a row the Wildcats needed their defense to come through on Saturday, and it did. An interception by junior linebacker Ryan Lewis that he returned 67 yards for a touchdown set the tone early for Bethune-Cookman in its 23-10 win over North Carolina Central.
Lewis said he knew the play was coming before the interception because of the way Central's tight end lined up and got off the ball on the snap. "All week I heard about that play (in practice)," Lewis said. "The coaches told me it was going to be there and I just had to make it. I got a couple of blocks from my teammates that helped me. That's the best part about it."
DURHAM -- It's going to take more than a game to turn around N.C. Central's football season, but interim coach Darryl Bullock saw some promising signs in his team's 23-14 loss to No. 14 Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. "We're showing we belong and we're close, but that just makes me sick," Bullock said. "It is a sick feeling, and I know that's how the team feels. We've got to stay together."
DAYTONA BEACH -- When the MEAC/SWAC Challenge football game was moved to Orlando two years ago, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference thought nearby Bethune-Cookman would be a natural to represent the conference.
But B-CU turned them down in 2008. The Wildcats and the Florida A&M Rattlers decided they would not be a part of the Labor Day weekend game as long as it was played at the Florida Citrus Bowl, because they thought it could infringe on their own Orlando game -- the Florida Classic -- played annually in late November.
DAYTONA BEACH -- South Carolina State has been ranked all season in the FCS Top 25. On Monday, the Bulldogs were joined in the poll by Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Bethune-Cookman. As luck would have it, the two teams will square off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Orangeburg, S.C.
B-CU (5-0, 3-0 MEAC) entered The Sports Network/Fathead.com poll at No. 23 with 390 points after receiving votes the previous two weeks. It is the first time the Wildcats have been ranked in the FCS Top 25 since the final poll of the 2003 season. READ MORE, CLICK EACH TITLE.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Bethune-Cookman linebacker Ryan Lewis was answering a question Saturday after the Wildcats' 47-24 homecoming victory over Delaware State, and while gazing straight ahead he could sense his teammates sitting next to him were serving up disapproving glances.
Lewis, who had five tackles Saturday, including a 13-yard sack to force a fumble that set up the Wildcats' fourth touchdown, was getting precariously close to suggesting this week's showdown with South Carolina State would be something more than "just another football game."
Coach Brian Jenkins' players have proven to be well-coached and well-programmed as they've unexpectedly stormed to a 5-0 record for just ....
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Jackie Wilson ran for three touchdowns and passed for 186 yards as Bethune-Cookman treated a near-capacity crowd of 9,649 to a 49-23 homecoming victory over Morgan State today at Municipal Stadium.
