TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct. 26) – The Florida A&M offense drove 96 yards in the final moments of regulation to score a game-tying touchdown with 19 seconds left, only to have their chance at victory slip away on a missed extra point, leading to bitter 20-13 overtime loss to visiting North Carolina A&T in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game in Bragg Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

 

Trailing 13-7 with 2:58 to play, FAMU junior quarterback Damien Fleming led the Rattlers' lone sustained drive of the game, a 13-play, 96-yard march, tying the game at 13-13, on an eight-yard strike to Dewayne Harvey with 19 seconds left in regulation.

 

Unfortunately for the Rattlers, kicker Chase Varnadore's game-winning PAT try sailed to the left of the left upright in the north end zone after a bad snap and bad hold, leaving the game tied 13-13, and headed for overtime.

 

In the extra frame, Aggie tailback Tarik Cohen ran in from eight yards out, followed by a PAT by Cody Jones for a 20-13 A&T lead.

 

But FAMU's possession went to fourth down, when Fleming's pass was picked off by Isaiah Martin to clinch the Aggies' second-ever overtime win over the Rattlers dating back to 1997.

 

In the second period, Cohen scored the first of his three touchdowns in the game, on a nine-yard run capping a 12-play, 80-yard drive to stake the Aggies (4-3, 2-3 MEAC) to a 7-0 lead with 13:53 left in the half.

 

FAMU (2-6, 1-3 MEAC) tied the score at 7-7, when transfer defensive back Shaun Ward picked off a Lewis Kindle pass, racing 17 yards with 8:03 left in the third period, before Cohen answered with a 27-yard scoring jaunt to end a 14-play, 87-yard drive with 2:00 left in the period for a 13-7 lead, after Cody Jones missed his PAT try.

 

That miss kept the door open for FAMU's dramatic march at the end of regulation which nearly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

 

Instead, FAMU dropped their sixth game in their last seven outings, falling to 0-4 at home this season with one home bout left, November 16 against Delaware State.

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:  The Aggies outgained the Rattlers, 274 to 179 in total yards, gaining the bulk of that on the ground, where they dominated the game to the tune of 256 to 57 in rushing yards…. Fleming finished the day passing for just 122 yards, completing 16 of 26 passes with a TD and an interception, while Lewis Kindle of A&T passed for 18 yards on four completions (12 attempts, and an interception)… Cohen led all rushers with 210 yards on 32 carries and 3 TDs… Fleming was FAMU's leading rusher with 21 yards on 9 carries…. Casey Glines of FAMU led all receivers with 4 catches for 33 yards…

 

AROUND THE MEAC: Defending conference champion Bethune-Cookman (7-1, 4-0 in MEAC) took a major step towards back-to-back MEAC titles Saturday, with a 14-3 win over visiting South Carolina State (5-3, 3-1) at Daytona Beach… In other MEAC action, the Hampton Pirates (3-5, 3-1) won their third straight game, 30-7 over Delaware State; Norfolk State dropped a non-conference heartbreaker to cross town Old Dominion (ODU), 27-24 at Dick Price Stadium; North Carolina Central knocked off Savannah State, 24-10, while Howard University doubled up Morgan State, 28-14.

 

WHAT'S ON TAP: The Rattlers open a two-game conference road swing next Saturday at Norfolk State (2:00) at Dick Price Stadium in Norfolk, Va.

-30-