Sept. 23, 2011
Final Stats
By Dan Ryan
B-CUAthletics.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A game already delayed nearly an hour by lightning went as long as possible Thursday as Bethune-Cookman defeated Hampton 35-31 Thursday night when the Pirates' touchdown on the final play was overruled.
B-CU (2-1, 1-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) had taken a 35-31 lead on Jackie Wilson's 13-yarder to Eddie Poole with 2:50 remaining. Hampton marched back and quarterback David Legree connected with Isiah Thomas on a 14-yarder as time expired, but replay officials maintained that Thomas did not maintain possession after a lengthy review.
“It could have gone either way,” B-CU Head Coach Brian Jenkins said. “Just thankful it went our way. If the decision went the other way I would still sit here proud of my guys.
“I was ready to challenge the play from the beginning," Jenkins added. “I didn't think he [Thomas] had possession. You had some guys that said `Coach he didn't catch it.' You had some guys that, of course, felt like a bomb had hit. They were in disbelief. But through it all, the thing that emotionally hits me right now is how good of a football team I have and how hard these young men play.”
Poole caught two-second half touchdowns from Wilson as the Wildcats' quarterback situation became a little more interesting, but at least the hopes for a repeat as conference champions remained alive.
Ole Miss transfer Rodney Scott had his breakout game as a Wildcat, rushing for a game-high 126 yards and catching two passes for 50 yards, including a 33-yard third quarter touchdown.
Jamarr Robinson registered two first-half rushing touchdowns and that TD to Scott, but Wilson finished the game, helping the Wildcats erase a 24-14 halftime deficit and manufacturing the game-winning drive.
“Jackie is a team player," Jenkins said. "He was actually our starter coming into camp, it just so happens Jamarr came out and performed the way he did. Playing both quarterbacks adds another dimension to our offense.”
Hampton (2-2,1-1) took a 31-28 lead on a 20-yard tipped interception return by Jeremy Jermin with 9:15 remaining. It was B-CU's third turnover of the game, and the previous two set a chip shot Hampton field goal and stopped a promising third quarter drive.
Scott, who broke several tackles after catch the screen pass, gave B-CU a 28-24 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Hampton's offense started slow, but when Legree found a rhythm, the Pirates moved the ball with ease and registered one big play after another. Legree registered 170 yards of total offense, rushed for two touchdowns and threw another as the Pirates turned a 14-3 deficit into a 24-14 halftime lead.
Bethune-Cookman got off to a quick start as Robinson scored on a pair of quarterback keepers as the Wildcats took a 14-3 lead. The first touchdown capped off a 75-yard drive on B-CU's opening possession while the second was set up by a Scott 54-yard run.
Hampton's offense came to life late in the first quarter starting with a 50-yard touchdown from Legree to Thomas that cut the Wildcat lead to 14-10 with 1:50 remaining in the first quarter. Legree (225 yards passing, 45 rushing) gave Hampton a 17-14 lead on a 3-yard with 3:47 remaining in the first half to end a scoring march where he converted three consecutive third-and-long situations. On the next possession, Legree turned a busted play into a 37-yard touchdown scamper.
Wilson passed for 97 yards and rushed for 55 for B-CU, who got 11 tackles each from Reggie Sandilands and Ryan Davis.
B-CU now faces its first-ever BCS program, the Miami Hurricanes, next Saturday at Sun Life Stadium. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. for the ESPNU televised contest.
NOTES: The game started at 8:26 p.m. and concluded at 12:20 a.m. Friday morning; Last year's "Blackout" game that featured the stadium lights going dark finished at 12:31 a.m. ... Eddie Poole extended his pass catching streak to 15 games; This was his first game with 2 TD catches. Last year against Howard, his 2nd TD was a kickoff return ... B-CU scored on its opening possession for the second time this season and tenth in the 15 games of the Brian Jenkins era ... Hampton's first-quarter TD was the first TD by a B-CU opponent this season ... B-CU has now won four straight in the series.
