TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct. 11) – The Florida A&M Rattler Football team staged a rousing 21-point second quarter surge Saturday evening to power their way to their first victory of 2014, a 24-14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win over visiting Savannah (Ga.) State at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
FAMU (1-5, 1-1 in MEAC) spotted the visiting Tigers (0-6, 0-3 in MEAC) a 7-0 first quarter lead on Richard Williams' nine-yard run with 3:21 left in the opening quarter.
But the Rattlers, which worked all week on bringing life to their offense, tied the score with a double reverse which resulted in senior quarterback Damien Fleming snaring a 30-yard touchdown pass from Boston College transfer receiver Spiffy Evans with 5:47 left in the first half.
Just three minutes later, Fleming was back behind center, throwing a 19-yard scoring strike to tight end Zachary Webster for a 14-7 lead with 2:09 in the half, then going into air raid mode with just six seconds helf before the break, lofting a beautiful throw to a wide open Casey Glines, who raced 56 yasrds to paydirt for a 21-7 halftime lead.
Savannah State, which has struggled mightily in recent years, edged back into contention midway through the final stanza, when quarterback Tino Smith capped a 12-play, 89-yard drive with a five-yard scoring toss to Derek Kirkland, trimming the Rattlers' edge to 21-14 with 7:58 to play.
But All-American kicker Chase Varnadore capped a nine-play, 53-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal at the 1:16 mark to give the Rattlers a much-needed 10-point cushion, as the Tigers drove into Rattler territory as time expired.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: FAMU, which scored its' offensive touchdown since the Jackson State game in Week One, rolled up 390 total yards Saturday, led by Fleming, who passed for 268 yards and two TDs (14 of 27, 3 INTs)… Senior Lemond Buice playing his second game after missing the first four bouts with a shoulder injury, led FAMU with 29 yards on four (4) carries, followed by freshman Gerald Hearns with 27 yards on eight carries, and Fleming, who had 26 yards on 13 tries.
Freshman receiver Brandon Norwood led FAMU with three receptions for 43 yards. Senior Dewayne Harvey had two grabs for 55 yards, while tight end Zachary Webster had two catches for 37 yards and one score… Punter Colby Blanton averaged 43.6 yards per boot, uncorking a 74-yarder, his second longest of the season late in the first half.
Junior linebacker Akil Blount led the way for the Rattlers defensively with 12 tackles (9 solos) with one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, followed by linebacker William Helms with six tackles (5 solos)…. The Rattlers finished with six (6) quarterback sacks snf eight (8) tackles for loss, led by linebacker Shaun Ward, who had a pair of sacks and two tackles for loss.
GAME NOTES: Saturday's win snapped a seven-game home losing slide for the Rattlers, which won for the first time in Bragg Stadium since a 22-21 homecoming win over North Carolina Central in 2012…. Damien Fleming's multi-tasking second quarter where he caught a TD pass, then threw for two scores, made him the first Rattler quarterback since Hall of Famer Tony Ezell did against Bethune-Cookman in the 1991 Florida Classic…. Florida A&M recognized the 50th anniversary of Bob Hayes' double gold medal Olympic triumph in Tokyo in 1964, with a video board presentation at halftime…. Former Rattler kicking great Greg Coleman, appeared on the video board during pregame ceremonies, congratulating Chase Varnadore for surpassing his 39-year record for longest field goal a week ago with a 53-yard kick against Morgan State.
THE MEAC RIGHT NOW: The victory also kept the Rattlers in the hunt for the MEAC title at 1-1 following a wild Saturday, which saw both first place teams – South Carolina State and Norfolk State – lose at home… North Carolina Central upset SCSU, 48-35, while Delaware State edged Nortolk, 13-10 in overtime… That put NCCU and defending champ Bethune-Cookman at the head of the class at 2-0, followed by a quintet of SCSU, Norfolk, idle Morgan State, North Carolina A&T and Delaware State tied for third at 2-1, with the 1-1 Rattlers within one game of the lead…. Savannah State (0-3) and disappointing Howard (0-4) are at the bottom of the heap.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Rattlers hit the road for two weeks, opening their road tour in the Nation's Capital against Howard University (1-6, 0-4) next Saturday at Greene Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
