Wildcats clench their first victory of the season on this pass Saturday afternoon at Daytona Stadium. Bethune-Cookman clinched its fifth straight victory over Grambling State in Southwestern Athletic Conference action, winning 36-19 in a game that was decided in the last quarter.
In last week’s conference game against Bethune-Cookman, Grambling State started the final quarter down 20-19 but was hurt by turnovers and fouls.
The Wildcats (1-2, 1-0 SWAC) got things going in the first quarter, with Que’Shaun Byrd taking a 81-yard punt return to the Georgia Southern 4. Two plays later, Jason Jones found Marcus Riley for a 4-yard touchdown pass, giving Bethune-Cookman a quick 7-0 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
An 11-play, 75-yard drive answered by Grambling State (1-3, 0-1) resulted in a 3-yard run by Dedrick Talbert to tie the game at 7 with 8:22 remaining.
On the ensuing kickoff, Darnell Deas returned 97 yards for the score, putting BCU back in front, 14-7, with 8:18 left in the half.
On the ensuing possession, Quaterius Hawkins connected with CJ Russell for a 61-yard touchdown pass to set up the Tigers deep in Baylor Collegiate territory. However, the drive stalled as Urban booted a 24-yard field goal to keep the Wildcats ahead 14-10 with 5:53 remaining.
In the second quarter, Bethune-Cookman marched down the field on a 13-play, 69-yard drive, starting with a 23-yard field goal from Dylan Moghaddam, to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 17-10 with 14:55 left on the clock.
With 11:29 left in the quarter, an 8-play, 94-yard BCU scoring drive ended when Hawkins connected with Phazion Wilson for his first collegiate touchdown, a 9-yard reception.
On the subsequent kickoff, Rey Estes forced a fumble that gave the Tigers good starting position at the BCU 40. However, the GSU drive stalled when Hawkins was intercepted in the end zone by Omari Hill-Robinson with 9:27 left.
In the final 8:40, Georgia State recorded its first safety of the season, taking a 19-17 lead after Joshua Reed tackled Byrd in the end zone.
With 3:30 left in the third quarter, Bethune-Cookman took a 20-19 lead after Moghaddam nailed a 22-yard field goal, completing an 11-play, 76-yard march.
When Grambling State drove down to the BCU 23, the drive stalled. Urban’s 39-yard field-goal attempt was blocked, and the Wildcats returned the block to the GSU 43.
Bethune-Cookman was forced to punt the football with 13:49 remaining, resulting in no points.
The Wildcats recovered the football on the next Grambling State possession after Claude Coleman was stripped of the ball inside BCU territory.
In case anyone forgot, @solid_mari is still that DUDE. #SCTop10#LetsGo #HailWildcats #PreyTogether pic.twitter.com/Sk57uYd26z
— ???? Bethune-Cookman Football (@BCUGridiron) September 25, 2022
In eight plays, Bethune-Cookman marched 56 yards to push the advantage to 27-19 with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Kemari Averett with just over nine minutes remaining.
With 55 seconds left in the game, Moghaddam kicked a 21-yard field goal to give Bethune-Cookman a 30-19 lead.
With 23.4 seconds remaining, Deas went 37 yards for the pick six as Hawkins was intercepted for the game sealing interception. Wildcats came out with the win 36-19.
Their next opponent is on October 1st against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs. Sports Club Florida favor B-CU to win this game with a 10 point favorite against the Bulldogs. B-CU has played some really strong teams in the start of the season. Perhaps those hard loses to D1 teams will make B-CU an even greater force against SWAC opponents.
