TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct. 1) – Senior safety Jacques Bryant was the lead hero for the FAMU Football team Saturday night, with a game-saving goal line interception to clinch a 19-14 win over Savannah State at Bragg Memorial Stadium Saturday night.
FAMU (1-4, 1-1 in MEAC) ended an eight-game losing skid with Saturday’s hard-fought win, as a game Savannah State squad (1-3, 1-1 MEAC) battled the Rattlers for four quarters.
In fact, the visiting Tigers were in the midst of a long march toward what could have been the deciding score, when Bryant’s interception and 45-yard mad dash runback into the jubilant FAMU bench ended a methodical 12-play, 61-yard drive with 3:53 left in the game.[lasso align=”right” cart=”y” identifier=”B008R9PX6M” locale=”US” tag=”hbcusports-20″ ref=”amzn-florida-am-rattlers-famu-university-large-college-flag” type=”single” id=”71826″ link_id=”5021″]
The Rattlers, which had sought to shake off a bitter 48-14 home opening loss to South Carolina State just seven nights earlier, came out with a grit and determination to earn some payback from the Tigers, which stunned them 37-27 in Savannah, Georgia a year ago.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Stanley, starting for injured senior Kenneth Coleman, may have made a solid case for more playing time Saturday, as he went 21 of 30, for 230 yards and one scoring toss, while rushing eight times for 29 yards.
Junior college transfer Vincent Jeffries also saw action against Savannah State when Jeffries was shaken up after delivering a pass. Jeffries went 3-for-4 passing for 40 yards, rushing for 22 yards on two carries, directing what proved to be the game-winning drive in the third period.
FAMU’s Tevin Spells raced in fron 21 yards out after catching a Stanley pass for a 7-0 lead with 11:31 left in the second period.
Savannah State’s Nicholas Bentlly plowed in from a yard out to tie the score 7-7 with 1:43 left in the half, before Spells scored for FAMU on a one-yard run with six seconds left in the half for a 13-7 lead, after Austin Miller’s PAT try was locked.
FAMU’s Hans Supsre extended the FAMU lead to 19-7 on a 10-yard run with 6:06 left in the third period, before Nicholas Bently slicwed the FAMU edge to 19-14 with his two-yard run with 13:56 left.
The Rattler Offense outgained Savannah State, 450 to 213, rushing for 180 yards and passing for 206. The Tigers rushed for 171, while passing for just 42 yards Saturday.
Supre led all rushers with 93 yards on 15 carries and a TD for famu, while Spells added 36 yards and a score on 12 carries. T.J. Bell led the Tigers with 48 yards on seven carries, with Bently njetting 36 yards on 10 carries to go with his two rushing TDs.
T.J. Bell led SSU with 32 passing yards on six complet5ions (11 attepts, one interception), while Blake Dever rotated with Bell, goping 2-for-7 for 10 yards.
Brandon Norwood had a game-high 10 catches for 58 yards for FAMU, while Derek Kirkland led the Tigers with three catches for 20 yards.
Jacques Bryant led the FAMU Defense with eight tackles (six solos) and the game-saving interception. Marcus Lee topped the Tiger tackle charts with eight tackles (six solos) and two tackle for loss.
WHAT’S NEXT: FAMU hits the road for a two-game conference stretch beginning next Saturday at North Carolina Central (4:00) in Durham, while Savannah State will host Morgan State in a Battle of the Blue and Orange at T.A. Wright Stadium (7:00).
Courtesy: FAMU Athletics
