GRAMBLING, La. | The Rattlers traveled to Grambling, Louisiana, and will leave winners, but they did not make it easy for themselves as they finished with 14 penalties for 171 yards in the 20-16 win.
"Another close one; start calling us the cardiac kids, I guess," said Head Coach
Willie Simmons. "For the second week in a row, we found a way. The defense stood up for the second week in a row when they needed to.
"Proud of the guys; we didn't play our best ball..there's something to be said about a team that finds a way to win."
Tale of Two Halves for Offense
The Rattlers could not get much going on the offensive side of the ball after ending the half with only three points and 131 total yards (89 passing, 42 rushing). In the second half, the Rattlers scored 17 points and had 209 total yards (137 passing, 72 rushing). The Rattlers' two offensive touchdowns came off a four-yard pass from
Jeremy Moussa to
Jeremiah Pruitte as Pruitte caught his first career touchdown. On the next drive, Moussa found the endzone on a two-yard run for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
Special Team Struggles
Outside of the two field goals by Romo-Martinez, the Rattlers' special teams struggled on two significant instances. At the end of the first half, the Rattlers did not field a kickoff, and the Tigers recovered it on the FAMU 17 and capitalized with their only offensive touchdown of the game to give them a 10-3 lead going into the half.
Later in the fourth, the Rattlers' punt coverage team allowed an 80-yard touchdown but put the pressure on the Tigers kick team to force a missed extra point, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Kamari Stephens Sets Career-High
Kamari Stephens had a career game finishing with three sacks.
100-Yard Game for K Dot
The Tigers' defense focused on slowing down
Xavier Smith, and
Jah'Marae Sheread took advantage, finishing with 106 receiving yards.
50th Career Win for Willie Simmons
Head Coach
Willie Simmons earned his 50th career win, winning 29 games with Florida A&M and 21 with Prairie View A&M.
Penalty Struggles
For the second week in a row, the Rattlers had over 150 yards in penalties as they committed 14 penalties for 172 yards.
Highlights
Press Conference
The Rattlers have a bye week before returning home to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff for Homecoming on October 29 at 4 p.m. Eastern.
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