Florida A&M

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tennessee State scored nine unanswered in the fourth quarter to complete a 29-26 come-from-behind win over Florida A&M in nonconference football Saturday evening at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.
 
Tennessee State (1-3) survived a fourth quarter that swung on special teams, a turnover and a series of big plays.
 
Florida A&M (1-3) took a 26-20 lead on Armond Parker's 80-yard touchdown pass to Jaquan Lee with 5:12 left, but the Rattlers' extra point was blocked, and Tennessee State's Syncere Safeeullah returned it 97 yards for a defensive two-point conversion. What should have been a seven-point Rattlers lead became a four-point game, and Tennessee State needed only a touchdown to win.
 
Lee finished 18 of 27 for 259 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, despite being sacked four times.
 
Paul carried 26 times for 92 yards and a score, caught four passes for 36 yards and two touchdowns, and accounted for all three of the Tigers' offensive scores. Cam Bulluck had four receptions for 84 yards, including a 63-yard catch that set up Paul's go-ahead score in the second quarter.
 
On the night, FAMU racking up 449 yards of total offense to Tennessee State's 390.
 
Rattlers signal-caller Armond Parker was 14 of 25 for 267 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Dustin Fletcher, who started at quarterback, went 6 of 11 for 48 yards and a touchdown and added 28 rushing yards before exiting the game in the second quarter.
 
Jamal Hailey caught eight passes for 83 yards and a touchdown to lead the Orange and Green receiving core.
 
The Rattlers struck first on the scoreboard.
 
Fletcher led an eight-play, 63-yard opening drive that consumed 4:19 and ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Maliek Denmark, giving FAMU a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the opening frame.
 
However, TSU answered with a 13-play, 65-yard march that spanned just under seven minutes – the longest drive of the night by either side, and tied the game on Lee's 4-yard pass to Paul with 3:32 left in the period.
 
The Tigers took a 13-7 lead early in the second quarter.
 
Lee hit Bulluck for 63 yards to the FAMU two-yard line, and Paul punched in a one-yard run with 3:33 left in the half before Preston Hurless missed the extra point.
 
Florida A&M responded just before the break.
 
Kieren Jackson's 48-yard kickoff return gave the Rattlers the ball at midfield. Parker later found Xavier Herndon for 23 yards, and Denmark ran 18 yards for a touchdown with 1:50 left to tie it at 13. Gabriel Caison's extra-point try also failed, and the teams went to halftime tied.
 
The third quarter turned on one play.
 
Chase Gillespie ripped off a 35-yard run on FAMU's first snap of a drive, but on the next play Parker's pass was intercepted by Jalen LaBranche, who returned it 61 yards for a touchdown and a 20-13 Tennessee State lead with 11:58 left in the third.
 
The Rattlers wasted little time in replying, as Parker connected with Denmark for 31 yards, then found Hailey for a 32-yard touchdown to tie the game at 20 with 9:32 to play in the quarter.
 
The score stayed there heading into the fourth.
 
Early in the fourth, Corey Petty appeared to return a punt 76 yards for a touchdown, but a holding penalty wiped it out. Florida A&M later turned the ball over on downs at the TSU 36. Gillespie would later fumble after an 11-yard run, forced out by Epoki Fakaosi and recovered by Sammy Taylor at the FAMU 40 with 9:43 left.
 
TSU drove inside the FAMU 10, but stalled, and Andre Powell Jr. blocked Hurless' 24-yard field goal attempt with 5:29 showing on the clock. One play later, Parker hit Lee in stride, and he raced 80 yards for the go-ahead score.
 
Then Rymen Mosley blocked Caison's extra point, Safeeullah scooped it up, and the Tigers were back within 26-24 on the two-point return.
 
Tennessee State's decisive drive included a fourth-and-2 conversion on a seven-yard pass from Lee to Aaron Duncan II and a 42-yard completion to Duncan to the Florida A&M five. After a penalty and a sack pushed the Tigers back to the 20, Lee found Paul for the winning touchdown, and Hurless' kick made it 29-26.
 
FAMU had one last chance, starting at its own seven-yard line with 45 seconds left.
 
Parker hit Hailey for 16 yards, scrambled for 13 more on third down and completed a nine-yard strike to Armand Burris, but the clock expired with the ball at the Rattlers' 45.
 
Defensively, the Rattlers sacked Lee four times for 24 yards and recorded eight tackles for loss. Denzel Johnson led all players with 11 tackles, and Caleb McKenzie added eight for the Orange and Green. Terrell James and Isaiah Morrison each had a sack to boot.
 
Tennessee State's Brandon Collins and Jaylon Price each recorded a sack, and Matthew Wilson led the Tigers with seven tackles.
 
FAMU looks to rebound next weekend when opening Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play at home inside Bragg Memorial Stadium to Alabama A&M, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
 
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