TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida A&M Rattler Football team staged a rousing 21-point second quarter surge Saturday evening to power their way to their first victory of 2014, a 24-14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win over visiting Savannah (Ga.) State at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
FAMU (1-5, 1-1 in MEAC) spotted the visiting Tigers (0-6, 0-3 in MEAC) a 7-0 first quarter lead on Richard Williams’ nine-yard run with 3:21 left in the opening quarter.
But the Rattlers, which worked all week on bringing life to their offense, tied the score with a double reverse which resulted in senior quarterback Damien Fleming snaring a 30-yard touchdown pass from Boston College transfer receiver Spiffy Evans with 5:47 left in the first half.
Just three minutes later, Fleming was back behind center, throwing a 19-yard scoring strike to tight end Zachary Webster for a 14-7 lead with 2:09 in the half, then going into air raid mode with just six seconds helf before the break, lofting a beautiful throw to a wide open Casey Glines, who raced 56 yasrds to paydirt for a 21-7 halftime lead.
Savannah State, which has struggled mightily in recent years, edged back into contention midway through the final stanza, when quarterback Tino Smith capped a 12-play, 89-yard drive with a five-yard scoring toss to Derek Kirkland, trimming the Rattlers’ edge to 21-14 with 7:58 to play.
But All-American kicker Chase Varnadore capped a nine-play, 53-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal at the 1:16 mark to give the Rattlers a much-needed 10-point cushion, as the Tigers drove into Rattler territory as time expired.
Courtesy: Florida A&M Athletics
