James Meade nailed a 39-yard field goal to help give the Bears their 4th consecutive win.
Boxscore
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With 16 seconds remaining in the ballgame, James Meade was sent in for a 39-yard field goal. Florida A&M used its final timeout of the game to try and “ice” the preseason All-MEAC kicker, but the senior stepped up and kicked it through the goal posts to help give the Bears a 13-10 win in front of 16,205 fans in attendance to celebrate the Rattlers' homecoming.
The win improved the Bears record to 6-3 overall and they are tied with Hampton for second place at 4-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Morgan State also extended its winning streak to four games, the longest winning streak since Donald Hill-Eley's took the helm of the Bears in 2002.
For the third time this season the Bears employed the use of three quarterbacks. Mario Melton came off the bench for injured starting quarterback Carlton Jackson in the first quarter, and then was relieved by Jeremy Glover midway through the third quarter. The quarterbacks combined for 6-of-17 passes for 44 yards and two interceptions.
Late in the fourth quarter, Glover tried to connect with tight end Christopher Burley in the seams, but a pass interference call on Rattler defender Greg Harvey gave the Bears 1st and 10 at the FAMU 34. Devan James followed it up with a big run when he broke off a 17-yard carry with just under 4 minutes left to give the Bears the ball deep in Rattler territory.
#Justin Lawrence#, who finished the night with four tackles and two sacks from his defensive end position, entered the ballgame as a fullback on 4th and 1 from the 26. The 6-foot-1, 280-pounder powered through the middle of the Rattlers' defense for three yards and a first down to set up Meade's game-winning field goal.
Morgan State had the ball and a three-point lead when Melton threw his second interception of the game when he attempted to complete a screen pass and was picked off by Rattler linebacker Vernon Wilder and returned 27-yards to the Morgan 20.
On the ensuing possession, Eddie Battle hit Kevin Elliott on a short pass and the wideout maneuvered his was to the endzone, only to see the apparent touchdown wiped away due to an illegal formation call. The Bears defense held the Rattlers to a 37-yard field to knot the game at 10 apiece midway through the 3rd quarter.
Curtis Pulley checked into the game and drove the ball deep into Bear territory behind two long runs and a personal foul penalty against the Bears. But once again the Bears defense stiffened and Clarence r McPherson's sack on 3rd and long forced a Rattler field goal attempt. Trevor Scott's 42-yard field goal sailed through the uprights, but for the second time the Rattlers' points were wiped off of the scoreboard due to a penalty, this time due to holding. The Rattlers ended up being pushed out of field goal range and were forced to punt.
Pulley, one of the MEAC's top offensive threats, was held to 27 yards on the ground and connected on 3-of-13 passes for 24 yards and an interception.
The Rattlers were limited to 29 yards on 24 carries and a total of 137 yards of total offense, while the Bears finished with 224 total yards.
Lawrence tipped a pass by Battle in the first quarter and defensive tackle Lonnie Harvey caught it in the air and raced down to the Rattlers' 31. Four plays and 8 yards later, James Meade stepped in and kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead.
Morgan State's defense began cranking up the pressure midway through the 1st quarter and as a result the Bears won the war for field position throughout most of the first half.
The Bears' defense forced a Rattler punt midway through the second quarter, and Melton promptly engineered a seven play, 44-yard drive that culminated when Devin James sidestepped tacklers in the backfield and squirted through an opening for a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 10-0 advantage with 5:46 remaining in the half.
James led the Bears with 99 yards rushing on 30 carries and went over 1,000 yards for the season (1,077) and sits at No. 8 (1,523) in MSU's school history.
Curtis Pulley orchestrated a 12-play drive and a score for the Rattlers just before halftime. Pulley hit Mykel Benson on a 3-yard strike and Trevor Scott's extra point cut the Rattlers deficit to 10-7 at halftime.
The Bears remain in the hunt for their first MEAC championship in 29 years with three games remaining on the schedule and will travel to Norfolk State to face the Spartans on Saturday, November 3rd.
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• Johnathan Skeete picked up 30 yards to give the Bears 1st down at the Rattlers 41 yard line with less than 5 minutes left to go in the game
• Morgan State finished the game with two interceptions, running their total number of interceptions to 18 for the season
• Devan James Is averaging 119 rushing yards per game and run for eight touchdowns
• #Lamont Bryant# blocked his second punt of the season
• The Bears defense finished with five sacks; Jarrell Guyton and George Howard each had six tackles and a sack to lead the Bears
