SAVANNAH, Ga. - Larry Brihm threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as No. 14 Bethune-Cookman took a 48-20 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Savannah State on Saturday evening inside Ted A. Wright Stadium.
Brihm completed 13-of-19 passes for a team season-high tying 222 yards, while rushing for 33 yards on 11 attempts, to help the Wildcats (6-1 overall, 3-0 MEAC) win their fourth-straight game and take sole possession of first place in the league standings. North Carolina Central, the only other undefeated team in league play entering Saturday, fell by a score of 21-20 to Morgan State in Baltimore.
| GAME LINKS |
| Game Stats |
Pregame Notes |
| Postgame Notes |
Press Conference |
| Season Stats |
Photo Gallery |
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| SCORING SUMMARY |
| 1st Quarter |
 |
TD |
Michael D. Jones 1 yd run (Hoggarth kick) |
 |
TD |
Michael Knox 10 yd run (Barron kick) |
| 2nd Quarter |
|
TD |
Frank Brown 52 yd pass from Larry Brihm (Hoggarth kick) |
|
TD |
Jhomo Gordon 47 yd pass from Larry Brihm (Hoggarth kick) |
|
TD |
Larry Brihm 12 yd run (Hoggarth kick) |
| 3rd Quarter |
|
TD |
Jaime Wilson 17 yd pass from Larry Brihm (Hoggarth kick failed) |
|
TD |
Danny Dillard 34 yd run (Hoggarth kick) |
| 4th Quarter |
|
TD |
Brett Maxie 1 yd run (Hoggarth kick) |
|
TD |
Cantrell Frazier 15 yd pass from Michael Knox (Barron kick) |
|
TD |
Nicholas Bentley 1 yd run (Dakota Garcia kick blocked) |
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| TEAM STATS |
|
|
|
| 10 |
1st Downs |
27 |
| 202 |
Total Yards |
543 |
| 132 |
Passing |
254 |
| 70 |
Rushing |
289 |
| 8-55 |
Penalties |
8-74 |
| 5 |
Turnovers |
2 |
| 23:27 |
Possession |
36:33 |
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| INDIVIDUAL STATS |
| Passing |
| |
PLAYER |
C/ATT |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
|
Brihm |
13/19 |
222 |
3 |
0 |
|
Knox |
9/18 |
117 |
1 |
1 |
| Rushing |
| |
PLAYER |
CAR |
YDS |
AVG |
TD |
|
Dillard |
11 |
87 |
7.9 |
1 |
|
Williams II |
14 |
36 |
2.6 |
0 |
| Receiving |
| |
PLAYER |
REC |
YDS |
AVG |
TD |
|
Gordon |
2 |
65 |
34.0 |
1 |
|
Frazier |
6 |
57 |
9.5 |
1 |
|
| |
|
Savannah State (0-7, 0-4 MEAC) tied the game at 7-7 on a Michael Knox 10-yard run on the final play of the opening quarter, but the Wildcats pulled away with a 21-point second frame paced by Brihm, a redshirt freshman from Delray Beach, Florida.
Brihm put the Wildcats back out in front with a 52-yard strike to sophomore receiver Frank Brown to make it 14-7 with 8:05 remaining in the first half.
Senior cornerback Thomas Finnie intercepted a Tigers pass on Savannah State's next offensive play, and Brihm quicly responded on first down with a 47-yard scoring strike to senior receiver Jhomo Gordon on the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage following the turnover.
A 12-yard Brihm run with 2:16 remaining in the second quarter pushed B-CU's halftime lead to 28-7.
Brihm capped off his night with a 17-yard touchdown to connection to redshirt sophomore Jaime Wilson early in the third quarter. Danny Dillard and Brett Maxie each added rushing scores as the Wildcats extended their lead to 48-7 in the opening minute of the final period.
Michael D. Jones scored the Wildcats' first touchdown on a one-yard first quarter run.
Finnie had a career-high two interceptions and Jameson Wright one, while Robert Way and Korey Harris recovered fumbles as the Wildcats defeated the Tigers for the 15th consecutive time.
Danny Dillard led B-CU's rushers with 87 yards on 11 carries. Michael D. Jones rushed for 58 yards and caught three passes for 20. Eleven different receivers had at least one catch. The Wildcats racked up a season-high 543 yards of total yards.
B-CU travels to South Carolina State next Saturday for a key MEAC game in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m.
