Wildcats down Rattlers 39-19 in 2016 Florida Classic
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats ran wild at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium this afternoon as they beat Florida A&M Rattlers 39-19 in the 2016 Florida Classic.
FAMU wasted no time in getting on the board against Bethune-Cookman but that was as good as their afternoon would get. The Rattlers received the opening kickoff and marched right down the field. The team’s opening drive stalled at the 22-yard line, but the Rattlers did manage to score a field goal to take an early lead.
The Wildcats were able to recover and then build a 14-3 lead in the first quarter thanks to back-to-back touchdown drives. The first ended with a 14-yard TD pass from Larry Brihm to wideout Frank Brown.The second was gift-wrapped as FAMU quarterback Ryan Stanley fumbled the ball in FAMU territory and B-CU safety Diquan Richardson recovered it and took the ball to the 27-yard line.
Bethune-Cookman then took a 21-3 lead over the Rattlers as sophomore running back Devin Bowers completed a fourth-down jump pass to Desmond Noird, who took the ball 27 yards for a score. Running back Jamaruz Thompkins gave B-CU its only score of the second quarter. He capped an 11-play 51-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 21-10 going into the half time break.
The only score of the third quarter came from a FAMU field goal and after giving up 21 first-half points, big plays on defense kept the Rattlers in the game throughout the third. Jacques Bryant got his second turnover of the game, recovering a fumble that went into the end zone. Orlando McKinley forced the fumble as a B-CU receiver was going into the end zone and the quarter ended as a one-touchdown game 21-13.
Bethune-Cookman managed to revive its offense in the fourth quarter as they lit up the Rattlers for three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes to secure a 39-19 victory. All three touchdowns were scored on the ground (two from backup QB Akevious Williams and one from RB Jamaruz Thompkins).
More photos from the game at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
