JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After Saturday’s games, Florida Memorial and Edward Waters look to have a new swagger in them, while Bethune-Cookman dropped another close game.
Here is your Week 6 Florida HBCU football recap:
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Edward Waters 37, Lane College 30
Saturday was homecoming day for the Tigers (3-3, 3-2 SIAC), and they were looking to give returning alumni a good showing from the football team. The Tigers came into the game on a two-game winning streak and were looking to reach .500 on the season. While Lane tried to put up a fight at the end of the game, it was too little too late.
The Dragons took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. The Tigers would then score 17 unanswered points to take a 17-7 lead in the second quarter. It was all Tigers after that as they never lost the lead again. Edward Waters looks to take their three-game win streak into Tuskegee, Alabama as they face the 5-1 Tuskegee Golden Tigers next week.
Florida Memorial 72, Warner 9
Ever since Florida Memorial lost to Grambling, this has become a different team. Last week, the Lions routed Ave Maria 56-13. But their opponents this week, Warner, also blew out its opponent the week before. So, something had to give in their matchup this week.
Florida Memorial (3-2, 2-0 SUN) completely dominated Warner (3-2, 0-2 SUN) in their first home game of the season. The Lions destroyed the Royals, with 72 points the most scored by Florida Memorial in the modern era. The Lions scored 30 points in the second quarter alone. The Lions had nearly 800 yards of total offense led by quarterback Cedquan Smith who threw three touchdowns in the dismantling of Warner. Florida Memorial hopes to bring another offensive explosion next week as they face the NAIA 16th rankedSt. Thomas in the Battle of Miami Gardens.
Alabama State 19, Bethune-Cookman 14
The SWAC is not a cakewalk of a conference and the Wildcats (1-4, 0-2 SWAC) know that too well. Coming into this week, they lost narrowly to Jackson State and were looking to get back into the win column on the road against Alabama State. On paper, this was an evenly matched game and News4JAX previewed this to be a close affair.
In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats were down 19-7 and the game looked to be all but wrapped up. That’s until quarterback Jalen Brown threw a touchdown with four minutes left in the game to close the deficit to 19-14. The Wildcats defense needed a stop to have a chance to win the game. Wildcats cornerback Stephen Sparrow gave them that chance after he got a pick and returned it to the 10-yard line. Even though they had amazing starting field position, the Wildcats could not complete the comeback. Bethune-Cookman hopes that homecoming week can gave them the motivation to win next week against Texas Southern.
No. 16 Florida A&M 26, Southern 19
The Rattlers are undoubtedly one of the best HBCU football programs in the country and continue to play like it. But when they came into Baton Rouge Saturday, the Rattlers faced a Southern team that was ready to play upset.
At halftime, Florida A&M (5-1, 4-0 SWAC) hardly led the game 16-12. The Jaguars (2-3, 2-1 SWAC) took a 19-16 lead early in the fourth quarter, putting pressure on the Rattlers. The Rattlers are not used to being behind in games, especially late in one. The Rattlers answered back with a field goal, tying the game up. Quarterback Jeremy Moussa threw his second touchdown of the game to Jamari Gassett with less than three minutes in the game to put the nail in the coffin. The Rattlers escaped the Jaguars and improved to 4-0 in conference play. The Rattlers will get a much-needed week off before they go on the road to Texas Southern.