Sounds of Music From Chicago Football Classic 2015 -- Bears vs. Bison

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Bethune -Cookman Rolls by Savannah State, 42-12

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Bethune-Cookman continued its control of the Savannah State series Saturday with a 42-12 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over the Tigers before a Municipal Stadium crowd of 5,975, on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Redshirt senior quarterback Quentin Williams threw for 207 yards and one touchdown and also rushed for 100 yards as the Wildcats (3-1 1-0 MEAC) downed the Tigers (0-3, 0-1 MEAC) for the 16th consecutive time, dating back to 1992.



Michael D. Jones rushed for two scores and Jamie Wilson caught two for a Bethune-Cookman offense, which racked up 592 yards of total offense and kept the Tiger offense out of the end zone. The lone SSU touchdown was on a fourth quarter interception in the Bethune-Cookman end zone.

“I don't think we have one main guy – we have guys,” said B-CU Head Coach Terry Sims. “Any of them can make a play at any time. And we're comfortable with any of them depending on our package.”

Bethune-Cookman did have 23 penalties for 212 yards – not a record, but that only came into play early.

After two third-down penalties, Savannah State took an early 3-0 advantage on the scoreboard courtesy John Barron’s 38-yard field goal with 4:52 remaining in the first quarter. However, the Wildcats quickly answered with a 6-play, 92-yard drive that produced Williams’ 13-yard scoring strike to Wilson.

Williams had a 36-yard completion to Wilson and a 37-yard connection with Ja-Quan Lumas, as the quick strike offense returned with its ninth touchdown drive of the season that spanned less than three minutes. Dubbed “Lightning Strikes” by the Bethune-Cookman staff, the Cats have had just a single scoring drive all year last longer than three minutes in length.

B-CU would strike quickly the rest of the game – in all, five times, as it pulled away for the team’s third consecutive victory, following a season opening setback at FBS opponent Miami (Fla).

The score also marked B-CU’s first points of the season in an opening quarter.

Platooning with Williams, redshirt sophomore quarterback Larry Brihm, Jr. led the Wildcats to a pair of second quarter scores that gave the Maroon and Gold a 21-3 halftime lead.

Anthony Jordan registered his 30th career rushing touchdown, moving the graduate past Jimmie Russell into fifth on the all-time list, on an 11-yard run with 5:08 remaining in the first half. Brihm would connect with Jawill Davis on a 57-yard catch and run 1:20 before halftime.

The Wildcats defense, which got a fumble recovery from Jamal Thomas and an interception from Jocelyn Borgella, Jr., stopped a pair of Tigers marches into the red zone during the second period, but each possession ended with a missed field goal attempt by John Barron.

Michael D. Jones’ runs of two yards in the third and a 50-yard fourth quarter burst up the middle, along with Williams capping off an 83-yard drive with an 8-yarder to Wilson, highlighted the second half.

Jones and Jordan rushed for 77 and 54 yards, respectively. Davis (77 yards) and Wilson (57) each caught three passes.

Jason Smith, Jr. had seven tackles and a quarterback sack for a Wildcats defense that has not given up a touchdown in two games.

Bethune-Cookman faces North Carolina Central next Saturday at 4 p.m., in an ESPNU nationally broadcasted game. The game is set for 4 p.m., at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

For the latest information on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, follow us on Twitter, @BCUGridIron. For the most accurate and up to date information delivered to your phone, download the official Bethune-Cookman Wildcats app for your Droid or iPhone.

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Strong Second-Half Surge Lifts NSU over Hampton, 24-14

NORFOLK, Viriginia --  Norfolk State rebounded from a seven-point halftime deficit by outscoring Hampton 17-0 in the second half to take a 24-14 win in the 53rd annual Battle of the Bay on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.

The win is the first in the NSU tenure of first-year Spartans' head coach Latrell Scott and came in the team's home opener after three straight road games against Division I FBS competition. The victory also gives the Spartans (1-3, 1-0 MEAC) their first two-game win streak against the Pirates (2-2, 1-1 MEAC) since 1990-91.

Gerard Johnson ran 20 times for 119 yards and a touchdown, his first 100-yard game as a Spartan. Quarterback Greg Hankerson Jr.passed for 176 yards and another score, and the Spartans scored 14 points off four Hampton turnovers.

Hampton had the 14-7 lead and the momentum heading into the second half after scoring a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. But NSU played its best quarter of the season in the third period, outscoring the Pirates 17-0. NSU took the second-half kickoff and drove 69 yards in 13 plays, capping the drive on Cameron Marouf's 24-yard field goal to draw within 14-10.

NSU forced a Hampton three-and-out on the next possession, then drove for the go-ahead score. Hankerson found Isaac White for a 12-yard TD pass with 3:16 left in the third quarter to give the Spartans a 17-14 lead. The big play on the drive was Hankerson's 3rd-and-7 completion for 37 yards to White where Hankerson eluded at least four Pirate pass-rushers and hurled a deep ball into the wind to White, who caught the ball on his knees.

The Spartans wasted little time in adding to their lead. NSU cornerback D'Metrius Williams intercepted Hampton quarterback David Watford on 3rd-and-21 on the Pirates' next possession, setting the Spartans up at the HU 38. Johnson dashed around the right end for 32 yards on the next play. Two plays later, freshman Quintreil Chung bulled his way into the end zone from 2 yards out, increasing the Spartans' advantage to 24-14 with 1:09 remaining in the quarter.

The NSU defense closed it out from there with a strong effort in the fourth quarter. The Spartans had two fourth-down stops and forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter. NSU linebacker Kyle Archie intercepted Watford with 2:10 remaining, and the Spartans sealed the win when Lamonte Clark sacked Watford, forced a fumble and Spartan linebacker James Byers recovered it with 1:14 left.

The Spartans took a 7-0 lead with 5:03 left in the first quarter when Johnson scored on a 23-yard TD run. The score was set up by aDeon King interception, which the senior linebacker returned to the Pirates 23.

Hampton seized control in the second quarter with two long scoring drives. Christopher Dukes' 7-yard TD run capped a 14-play, 90-yard drive with 7:03 left in the second quarter that knotted the score at 7-all. Watford then hit Rayshad Riddick with a 10-yard TD pass with 53 seconds left before halftime, capping a 12-play, 80-yard march to give HU a 14-7 lead going into the half.

Watford completed 21-of-44 passes for 180 yards and three interceptions for the Pirates. 

White (67 receiving yards) and DeAndre Sangster (34) led NSU with three receptions apiece. 

Safety Leroy Parker had a team-high 11 tackles, one for loss, for the Spartans. King tallied 10 tackles, one interception, half a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries. Williams had a strong game in the secondary with six tackles, three pass breakups and an interception.

The Spartans are back on the road next week for a 1 p.m. game at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

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Skillon throws 2 TDs as MSU handles Howard 21-13

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Redshirt senior quarterback Moses Skillon threw two touchdowns as Morgan State defeated Howard 21-13 in Mid-Eastern Conference play on Saturday at the 18th annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field.
 
Skillon played the biggest role in the victory by completing 16 of 29 passes for 211 yards for the Bears (1-2, 1-0). Redshirt senior wideout Andrew King also had a stellar night for the MEAC defending champions. King was on the receiving end of both of Skillon's touchdown passes and finished with a season-best 115 yards receiving.

Junior running back Orlando Johnson scored the first points of the game on a 3-yard touchdown run. The extra point by Chris Moller gave the Bears 7-0 lead at the 5:34 mark in the first quarter.
 
Skillon threw TD passes of 10 yards and a season-long 64-yards to King to extend the Bears lead to 21-0 midway through the second quarter.
 
Skillon had the Bears on the move again on their next possession, connecting with Ricky Fisk for a 7-yard pickup. But Fisk was stripped of the ball by Howard's Craig Johnson who took it 27 yards for a Bison touchdown, closing the gap to 21-7 at halftime.
 
In the second half, Morgan State went scoreless and gave up two field goals by Howard's John Fleck.
 
Howard's (0-4, 0-2) starting quarterback Jamie Cunningham struggled against the Bears aggressive defense. Cunningham threw for 58 yards, before being replaced by Kalen Johnson in the second quarter. Johnson completed 12 of 23 passes 96 yards and was sacked three times and was picked off by MSU's senior cornerback Desean Summers.
 
Morgan State's offense compiled 419 yards against the Bison defense to help post the Bears first win of the season and improved MSU head coach Lee Hull's record against Howard to 2-0.
 
Greg Gibson led the Bears defense with eight tackles, while Joel Scott harassed the Bison all night by recording three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a pair of QB hurries and a sack. The Bears posted seven tackles for loss; seven hurries, three sacks and limited Howard's offense to a pair of field goals.

Bear Note
Lamont Brown III was named the Chicago Football Classic MVP. The redshirt junior led the Bears on the ground with 11 carries for 75 yards (6.8 avg).

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Southern University Human Jukebox Showcase at UGA

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TD returns help Grambling State hang on against Prairie View A&M

DALLAS, Texas -- On the Cotton Bowl turf Saturday night, Grambling State coach Broderick Fobbs wiped the sweat from his brow one last time.

Grambling State had just scored a wild 70-54 victory over Prairie View A&M in the Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic before an announced crowd of 51,328.

"I tell you, it's probably the ugliest football game we've played," Fobbs said. "It feels like we lost the game, but we're fortunate to get out of here with a victory."



Grambling (2-2, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) never trailed and led by 22 points on four occasions. Prairie View (2-2, 2-1) stayed close and refused to fold.

The difference was Grambling sophomore Martez Carter.

In each half, Carter returned a kickoff for a touchdown, including a 100-yard, fourth-quarter return that appeared to take the wind out of Prairie View. With Grambling holding a 56-48 lead with 3:46 left, Carter fielded the kickoff in the end zone, found a crease in the middle of the field and outran the coverage.

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Pass rush, ground game came up big in JSU win

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State defensive coordinator Alonzo Lee said he would switch things up with his game plan after the defense had allowed an average of 51.6 points per game through the first three games of the season.

The Tigers' defense looked more aggressive in a 34-30 win against Texas Southern on Saturday. Lee believed the defensive front was going to cause some havoc soon and it certainly did against TSU.

JSU's defensive line accounted for five sacks. Defensive end Teddrick Terrell posted two, while fellow end Keontre Anderson had a sack and a half and defensive tackle Cornelius Henderson had one.

Henderson had eight tackles. Javancy Jones recorded half of a sack and eight tackles, too.

The Tigers piled up 10 tackles for loss.

TSU rushed for 151 yards, but 58 yards came on one play. The other 36 rushes went for just 93 yards.

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