Norfolk State ended years of frustration Saturday with a 27-24 victory against MEAC leader Bethune-Cookman, the top-ranked team among black colleges and No. 12 in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The victory is the first-ever in Daytona Beach, Fla., for the Spartans (3-7, 3-3 MEAC) and it ends an 18-game conference winning streak for Bethune-Cookman (8-2, 5-1 MEAC), which dropped into a first-place tie in the MEAC with South Carolina State.
Norfolk State led 24-7 at halftime and then held on for the victory, which was shrouded with controversy. The Wildcats, one of the most penalized teams in the country at 85.8 yards a game, were penalized 15 times for 138 yards. The coupe de grace came with 3:49 left in the game.
Dre’Sean Nelson was called for a personal foul penalty on a punt by Norfolk State. The referee announced the penalty as illegal contact on the snap. The penalty gave Norfolk State an automatic first down, and Bethune-Cookman didn’t get the ball back until six seconds remained in the game.
The flagfest for Bethune-Cookman came on the heels of the conference slapping Wildcats coach Brian Jenkins with a fine and a reprimand for criticizing the officiating in his team’s 38-24 victory against North Carolina Central on Nov. 2. The Wildcats were penalized 24 times for 232 yards in that game, and Jenkins told the Durham Herald-Sun newspaper “that was some of the worst officiating I’ve ever seen.’’
Jenkins held his tongue following the loss to Norfolk State and had nothing to say about the personal foul penalty called against Nelson.
‘’I don’t want to comment on that because I don’t want to get fined,’’ he said.
In addition to the penalties, the Wildcats also committed five turnovers.
Norfolk State, coached by former Bethune-Cookmn defensive coordinator Pete Adrian, used a ball-control offense featuring running back Deuce Finch, to dominate time of possession and keep Bethune-Cookman at bay. The Spartans held the ball for nearly 38 minutes. The Spartans controlled the ball for more than 10 minutes in the first quarter. Finch rushed for 138 yards, and he scored the Spartans’ first touchdown on a two-yard run on their first possession. Finch’s touchdown capped a 10-play, 81-yad drive that set the tone for the game.
Key Results
Jackson State 26, Alabama A&M 20 – The Tigers clinched their second straight SWAC East championship with a come-from-behind road victory. Jackson State (7-2, 8-0 SWAC) fell behind 13-0 early in the second quarter. The Tigers will play West Division winner Southern in the conference championship game Dec. 7 in Houston. The Tigers scored 26 unanswered points to command of the game. Quarterback Clayton Moore threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Michael Perkins and Ryan Deising kicked a pair of field goals to tie the score at halftime. The Tigers continued their onslaught in the second half as Moore tossed a 24-yard scoring pass to Tobias Singleton and Deising tacked on two more field goals. Moore passed for 311 yards and while completing 18 of 31 throws. Alabama A&M (3-7, 3-5 SWAC) scored a meaningless touchdown with 1:16 left in the game when quarterback Jaymason Lee connected with Montauri Smith on a 1-yard pass.
Alcorn State 50, Prairie View A&M 35 – Quarterback John Gibbs Jr. threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns Thursday night as the Braves knocked the Panthers out of the SWAC West Division race with a home victory. Gibson also rushed for 79 yards on nine carries to keep the Braves (8-3, 6-2 SWAC) alive in the SWAC East race. The loss for Prairie View (5-4, 4-4 SWAC) handed Southern the division title. Both of Gibbs’ touchdown passes came in the first half. He also ran 15 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to help the Braves build a 34-14 halftime lead. Running back Arnold Walker complemented Gibbs by rushing for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. Alcorn had 510 yards total offense. Alcorn’s defense yielded 478 yards, but the Braves came up with five turnovers, including four interceptions.
Southern 31, Alabama State 28 – The Jaguars, with the SWAC West Division championship already in hand following Prairie View A&M’s loss to Alcorn State Thursday night, picked up a road victory when Greg Pittman kicked a 43-yard field goal with 18 seconds on the clock Saturday. The loss, coupled with Jackson State’s victory against Alabama A&M, eliminated Alabama State (6-4, 6-2 SWAC) from the East Division race. The Hornets tied the score at 28-all on Isiah Crowell’s 43-yard touchdown run with 1:22 remaining in the game. Crowell rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns. But that wasn’t enough to offset quarterback Dray Joseph’s performance for Southern (6-4, 6-2 SWAC) Joseph completed 26 of 45 attempts for 427 yards and four touchdowns. Three of Joseph’s touchdowns went to Mike Jones, who caught five passes for 211 yards.
Miles 41, Tuskegee 36 – The Golden Bears advanced to the SIAC Championship Game for the second time three years with road victory against the defending conference champion Golden Tigers, who were ranked No.7 among HBCUs, No. 23 in the AFCA Division II Coaches poll and No. 6 in Division II Super Region 2. Miles (6-3, 4-1 SIAC West), No. 9 in Super Region 2 and unranked nationally, took advantage of four first-half turnovers by Tuskegee (8-2, 4-1 SIAC West) to build a 34-7 lead and then held on to wrap up the West Division title and earn a spot in the conference championship game opposite Albany State Saturday at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta. In addition to the turnovers, which led to three touchdowns for Miles, the Golden Tigers had no answer for Golden Bears quarterback David Thomas. Thomas passed for 312 yards and five touchdowns. The 6-2, 215-pound senior also rushed 11 times for 104 yards a touchdown. Running Denzel Veal added 86 yards on the ground as the Golden Bears amassed 541 yards total offense. Tuskegee had 502 total yards and didn’t punt in the game, but the Golden Tigers’ turnovers were too much for them to overcome. In addition the Golden Tigers’ defense wasn’t able to get off the field. Miles was 9-for-13 on third down conversions and 2-for-2 on fourth down. The victory was the first against Tuskegee for third-year Miles coach Reginald Ruffin, who was defensive coordinator for the Golden Tigers for five seasons.
Albany State 19, Fort Valley State 10 – The Golden Rams overcame an early 10-point deficit to win the 24th Fountain City Classic in Columbus, Ga., and wrap up the SIAC East Division championship. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Rams (5-4, 4-0 SIAC East) and their 10th in the last 12 games in the Fountain City Classic. The all-time series between the teams, which began in 1949, is tied 31-31-3. Fort Valley (4-6, 3-1) led 10-0 at the end half on the strength of Malcolm Eady’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Donte Warren and Christopher Ward’s 23-yard field goal. Albany State ran off 19 unanswered points in the second half to secure the win. Adrian Alexander scored on a 14-yard run; Frank Rivers threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Atkins for a 12-10 lead, and Alexander scored from 64 yards on a screen pass on a third-and-10 play with less than three minutes remaining to seal the win.
Other Scores
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 45, Grambling State 42
Bowie State 30, Elizabeth City State 21
Chowan 77, Lincoln (Pa.) 14
Clark Atlanta 35, Edward Waters 28
Delta State 77, Concordia-Selma 0
Hampton 29, N.C. Central 21
Howard 42, Savannah State 14
Johnson C. Smith 26, Central State 24
Kentucky State 44, Morehouse 0
Lane 48, Benedict 13
Lincoln (Mo.) 42, Northeast State (Okla.) 33
Livingstone 42, Virginia-Lynchburg 13
Miss. Valley State 20, Texas Southern 17
Morgan State 24, N. C. A&T 23
Shaw 32, Saint Augustine’s 14
Shepherd 47, West Va. State 0
Shippensburg 42, Cheyney 0
Stillman 42, College of Faith 0
South Carolina State 25, Florida A&M 21
Southwest Assemblies of God 38, Texas College 15
Tennessee State 31, Austin Peay 6
Virginia State 4, Virginia Union 3
Winston-Salem State 28, Fayetteville State 14
