Bricen Tate recovers a fumble in the endzone for the Bears first touchdown.
Boxscore
Bear Shots
DAYTONA, Fla. – Morgan State had its best scoring output of the season and the defense held when it counted most to help the Bears improve to a three-game winning streak and extend Bethune-Cookman's rough season with a 24-13 win Saturday at Daytona Municipal Stadium.
The Bears captured its first conference win of the season, and hold a 3-1 overall record for the first time since 1996.
MSU held a 17-7 lead at the break, but the Wildcats came out with renewed energy in the second half.
Starting on its own 4 yardline, Francois opened the drive with an option pitch to Fred McCaskill for a 60-yard gain to help setup an 11-yard TD run by Courtney Keith with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter. Kory Kowalski's point extra attempt was blocked by defensive tackle James Cole. It was senior's second extra point block of the season.
The Bears quickly countered on its next possession. Carlton Jackson guided the Bears 60 yards in six plays and connected with junior wideout Edwin Baptiste for a 19 yard touchdown pass to lift the Bears to a 24-13 advantage.
MSU's defense pitched shutout in the fourth quarter and was led by senior linebacker George Howard. For the third consecutive week, Howard posted double-digit tackles and finished today's game with 17 total tackles (13 solo).
Jackson had another efficient and error-free game for the Bears. He carried the ball five times for 47 yards and completed 10-of-18 passes for 104 yards and touchdown.
Senior RB Devan James was limited to 34 yards on 12 carries, while freshman RB Brian Mann had nine carries for 32 yards.
B-CU continued a season of struggle, despite managing solid offensive numbers. The Wildcats posted 343 total yards – 109 total yards accounted for by QB Maurice Francois, while MSU finished with 237 yards.
The loss dropped the Wildcats to 0-4 (0-2 MEAC), marking the first time B-CU's head coach Alvin Wyatt's coaching career.
MSU punter Nicholas Adams helped pin the Wildcats deep inside their own territory following a 40 yard punt that was downed at the B-CU 5 yardline. The Bears scored on the Wildcats first possession when Francois was hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball into the endzone where it was recovered by MSU defensive end Bricen Tate. The extra point conversion by Kemar Scarlett gave the Bears an early 7-0 advantage.
MSU's offense began moving the ball during its second possession of the contest. Jackson engineered a five play, 77 yard drive that included a 17 yard pass play to Jephte Cherenfant and a 28 yard pass to Lamont Bryant to help setup a 1-yard run by Dominick West who crossed paydirt untouched. MSU led 14-0 with 11:07 left in the first quarter.
Kowalski had a rough day for the Wildcats special teams unit as he missed on two field goals (48 & 33).
Scarlett blasted a 48-yard field goal early in the second quarter to extend MSU's lead to 17-0 (13:21), but the Wildcats answered on the ensuing possession with an 11-play, 60 yard drive capped by a 1-yard keeper by Francois as B-CU trailed 17-7 at the half.
