QB LeJominick Washington scored the Bears lone touchdown in 26-7 loss.
Ben Dougherty threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the Florida A&M Rattlers downed visiting Morgan State, 26-7, in front of a home crowd of 15,305 fans at Bragg Stadium. The game got off to a solid start for the Bears, as they wasted no time marching down the field on its opening drive. Morgan State (1-1) put together a 9 play 80-yard drive capped by a 3-yard TD run by senior quarterback LeJominick Washington. The extra point by Jon Voroshilin gave Morgan an early 7-0 advantage, as a stunned Rattler crowd looked on.
On the ensuing possession, MSU’s defense withstood the Rattlers’ no-huddle/spread offense throughout the rest of the 1st quarter.
FAMU’s scoring drought ended in the 2nd quarter; meanwhile, Morgan’s was just getting started.
The Rattlers (1-1) were pinned deep inside its own territory following a sack by Jason Whaley to put the ball on FAMU’s 13. Dougherty hustled his offense to the line, but this time as he surveyed the field he saw that MSU’s defense looked out of position. The Rattler quarterback took advantage by hooking up with wideout Anthony Demps for a 74-yard play that instantly brought the Rattler fans to their feet. Defensive back Larry Davis never gave up on the play, as he ended up pushing Demps out of bounds on Morgan’s 13 to save what would have been a sure touchdown.
On the next play, Dougherty once again hustled his team to the line, preventing Morgan from substituting, and found Rod Miller wide open in the end zone for a touchdown. Juan Vasquez’s missed extra point left the Rattlers trailing 7-6 with 9:07 remaining in the half.
Morgan’s next possession was brief, as a holding penalty and false start stifled the Bear’s drive resulting in another MSU punt.
The Rattlers picked up where they left off, this time from its own 21-yard line. Dougherty began the drive with a 26-yard pass to tailback Rashard Pompey and then followed it up with a 34-yard pass to speedy wideout Rod Miller who ran to Morgan’s 11. Two incomplete passes and a stuffed run by defensive tackle Aaris Johnson helped hold FAMU to a Vasquez field goal, giving the Rattlers its first lead with 5:07 left.
Following a 30-yard kickoff return by William DeShazo the Bears started its drive at just about mid-field. The Morgan offense, behind the signal-calling of Bradshaw Littlejohn, proceeded to move the ball down the field to FAMU’s 25-yard line, and appeared to have the Rattlers on its heels. However, the Bears offense stalled and led to a 42-yard field goal attempt by Voroshilin. The kick sailed wide left.
On FAMU’s final drive of the half, the Rattlers took advantage of a facemask penalty against the Bears, following an 8-yard completion to Cardan Alexander. The resulting penalty placed the ball at MSU’s 20 and once again the Bear’s defense rose to the challenge and forced Vasquez to attempt another field goal. The 30-yard boot was good and gave the Rattlers a 12-7 cushion at the break.
The 2nd half was a nightmare for MSU as Dougherty picked apart the Bears defense, and the offense came away empty three times deep inside Rattler territory, including a 4th and goal at FAMU’s 7.
Dougherty ended up scoring on a 26-yard scramble in the 3rd quarter, and connected with Gerard Moore in the 4th quarter to give the Rattlers a 26-7 victory.
Morgan State finished the game with 340 total yards of offense, while FAMU had 471. Ben Dougherty accounted for 411 yards of offense as he connected on 21-for-36 passes for 317 yards, and gained 94 yards on the ground.
Washington and Littlejohn combined for 142 passing yards and 75 rushing yards. Tailback William DeShazo recorded his best game as a Bear, as he racked up 184 all-purpose yards, and led the Bears ground attack with 85 yards on 15 carries. #Kelvin Dickens# led Morgan’s receiving corps with 5 receptions for 74 yards. Senior linebacker Albert Gamble led the defense with a game-high 11 tackles and a sack, while “Choo Choo” Davis and Vincent Brown finished with 8 tackles each.
Morgan State will attempt to bounce back to the win column when they host the Bulldogs of South Carolina State next Saturday at Hughes Stadium.
Box Score
