Bethune-Cookman runs past NSU in 33-17 romp

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

Simply put, Bethune-Cookman didn't need to put the ball in the air Saturday against Norfolk State.

"Why pass when they can't stop the run?" giddy Wildcats coach Alvin Wyatt asked after his team's 33-17 romp over the Spartans at Municipal Stadium.

For the second week in a row, the Wildcats won a game by completing just two passes. Only last week the victim was hapless Savannah State. This time it was a Norfolk State team that came into the season talking about a MEAC championship.

Instead the Spartans (2-3, 1-1) leave Daytona Beach, where they are 0-7, searching for answers after a crushing loss to the Wildcats, picked to finish seventh in the MEAC. The Spartans turned it over three times in the second half, when they were outscored 20-3.

Bethune-Cookman (3-1, 1-1) amassed 316 yards of offense - 300 of them on the ground - behind Wyatt's vintage "Wyattbone." That included 16 rushes for 179 yards by Maurice Francois, the team's true freshman quarterback, who produced similar numbers last week.

"Today we lost to a team that wasn't better than us," said NSU defensive back Don Carey, staring blankly ahead. "We're a good team. Seems like we keep shooting ourselves in the foot."

The game began to unravel for NSU with a missed field goal midway through the third quarter.

The Spartans were trailing 19-17 when Justin Castellat lined up for the 36-yard kick, and heard coach Pete Adrian yelling something about 12 men on the field. Castellat, who had made a career-long 49-yarder earlier in the quarter, didn't think he was supposed to kick, when suddenly the ball was snapped.

"I wasn't ready," he confessed, though NSU coach Pete Adrian said he should have been.

"I thought they had 12 guys on the field and I was yelling at the official that they had 12," Adrian said. "Justin said he looked up and thought we had 12. But since when does he pay attention to me? He just has to kick the ball."

Though the Wildcats picked up three first downs on the ensuing drive, the Spartans earned the critical stop on third down when Dennis Marsh tackled Brian Sumlar for a loss. With 4:47 remaining, NSU took over at its own 18.

Then the game changer. On the initial play of the drive DeAngelo Branche fumbled and Dexter Jackson recovered.

Branche, an ice bag resting on his right foot after a sweltering day when he carried 21 times for 124 yards, seemed unable to find the correct words.

"I was careless," Branche said. "It's all on me."

Six plays later, Sumlar's score made it 26-17 Wildcats.

The Spartans were back on offense with 2:28 left, but on fourth down, Dennis Brown threw his first interception of the afternoon, leading to a Cookman score. The picks - Brown would toss another one inside of a minute - and the loss marred what had looked to be an improved effort from NSU's first-year quarterback, who completed 9 of his 17 passes for 102 yards. Brown also ran 12 times for 67 yards, including a 30-yard scramble for a touchdown up the middle on 3rd-and-goal.

That hardly mattered for the South Florida native who turned 22 on Saturday and was greeted by a dozen or so Wildcats after the game who knew him from his days at Miami's Central High School.

"We've got to come together as a team," he said. "We're not doing the little things right. I'm going to call a team meeting with the guys and see where everybody's head is at. We've got to start over and get it right."

The Spartans have a bye week to figure it out before the brutal part of their schedule continues with road games at South Carolina State and Hampton.

Notes: The jubilant Bethune-Cookman celebration after a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions turned somber when sophomore defensive back Michael A. Williams lay motionless on his right side after the return of the second pick. With 25 seconds remaining in the game, nearly a half hour passed as trainers worked on Williams, who released a heart wrenching wail after 15 minutes. The Wildcats gathered into a prayer circle, as the Spartans paced and watched, most in stunned silence. Williams was lifted by stretcher into an onfield ambulance. He went into surgery Saturday night to repair two broken bones in his right leg.... Spartans wide receiver Jeremy Wicker is on crutches after Saturday's game. Wicker left the game after making a 30-yard reception. He is expected to miss at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain. Brown was also shaken up after a 36-yard run that set up NSU's second score. Backup quarterback Dexter Merritt came in to throw the 13-yard lob - the first touchdown of his college career - to Jamar Johnson.... NSU senior Josh Anderson blocked both missed extra-point attempts from Matt McCutcheon.... Wyatt wasn't bashful talking about how meaningful Saturday's victory was. He said last year's 38-31 loss at Price Stadium lingered in his mind long after the final whistle. "The plane ride home seemed like two days back," he said As for the Wyattbone, Wyatt noted that NSU's defense "didn't have a clue."