Florida Memorial saw its 13-point third-quarter lead dwindle and couldn’t capture its first win Saturday
Opening statement from Florida Memorial University’s Head Football Coach Tim “Ice” Harris Sr. on its season opener against Edward Waters University on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at the Nathaniel Glover Field & Stadium | Jacksonville, Florida. “We had a good first drive; I thought that we were showing some signs that we have reached a certain point. Then we started sputtering as an offense…we had too many turnovers – especially in the run game. We had two fumbles that really hurt and swapped the game. The defense was doing a hell of a job throughout the game. We talked at halftime about getting ourselves in position to pull away from [Edward Waters] and not leaving it up to one play or that they could still be in the game and unfortunately that’s what happened to us. We felt good about the way the defense was playing early on, but we do want to make sure that we set a standard that no matter what point in the game it is, when it’s time to stop them, we’re a defense that stops them.”
On team’s growth from 2020 season to 2021 season…“The growth was there. We saw some great things…things that we can build on. We can see that it’s coming together but we’re not dealing with morale victories. We’re coming into games looking to win. We didn’t put ourselves in position enough offensively – scoring points – to put [Edward Waters] away. We kept them in it and then they were able to make plays and come back.”
On preparing for game vs. St. Thomas University next week…“We talked about that. We’re not going to be satisfied with losing. We’re going to look at the tape and really evaluate it and see how we can continue to get better and not let this game beat us for the rest of the season. We did [St. Thomas University] a favor by swapping the date of that game. Now we’ve got to transition right into preparation for that one. That’s going to be another rivalry game for us in a hostile environment as both schools are right there in Miami Gardens. And the process of getting ready for that one starts tomorrow.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Football is a game played in three phases – offense, defense, and special teams. While fans may only think about the first two, any coach worth his headset will tell you that all three are equally important.
Florida Memorial University saw its offense generate 329 total yards of offense and its defense create five turnovers – three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, with one of those fumbles being returned for a touchdown – but saw its special teams unit struggle at various points Saturday which left the door open for host Edward Waters University to rally and knock off the Lions 24-20 Saturday in the sea-son-opener for both teams at EWU’s Nathaniel Glover Field & Stadium.
FMU (0-1) clung to a 20-17 lead with less than three minutes to play in the game after it retook the lead following a 39-yard touch-down throw and catch from Antoine Williams to Calvin Clark. Thanks to a 40-yard return on the ensuing kickoff, Edward Waters began its final offensive drive inside Lions’ territory – at the FMU 37-yard line – and was able to manufacture a 6-play, 37-yard drive that it capped with a 1-yard touchdown run with just 16 seconds left on the clock.
Trailing 24-20, the Lions – who will now travel to face neighborhood and Mid-South Conference rival St. Thomas University next Saturday (Sept. 4) thanks to a scheduling change – tried and completed a short pass, then Williams threw a desperation heave – that was short of the end zone – which was intercepted by the Tigers to seal Florida Memorial’s ill-starred fate.
While watching Saturday’s game slip through their proverbial hands was a tough pill for the Lions players and coaches to swallow, the team showed themselves, the near-capacity crowd in attendance that sat through several squalls of rain, and their remaining opponents that this season’s Florida Memorial University football team is a much-improved program that is miles ahead of where it was during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when it scored just 13 points through three games.
The Lions did set new modern-era records in multiple categories: most points scored in a single game; longest defensive touchdown; fewest points allowed in a single game; fewest total yards allowed; most interceptions in a single game; most fumbles forced; and most fumbles recovered.
Offensively, FMU saw Williams complete 19 of his 30 passes Saturday with a touchdown and the essentially inconsequential interception at the end of the game. Williams also rushed for 43 yards while freshman running back George Young finished with a team-high 69 yards on 16 carries; Merkell Lee caught a game-high 7 passes for 60 yards; Clark had 2 catches for 46 yards to go along with his fourth-quarter TD grab.
Terry Smith led the Lions defense with 6 total tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Jamari Goodgame, Christopher Nelson, and Kristopher Fowles all registered interceptions while defensive back Marcell Blocker and defensive lineman Lemroy Lawrence finished with 4.5 and 4 total tackles respectively.
Special teams miscues was the thorn in FMU’s collective paws. After the team’s first touchdown drive – a 10-play, 83-yard drive which Akin Liverpool punctuated with a 5-yard scoring run – a botched snap during the extra point kick left the score 6-0. On the ensuing kickoff, the Lions’ kickoff coverage team yielded return for touchdowns on consecutive kicks with the saving grace being penalties on the Tigers that wiped away both runs. Florida Memorial also missed two field goals Saturday.
FMU led the Tigers 13-0 after defensive lineman Phil-man Roundtree scooped up a loose ball and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown with 11:17 left in the third quarter, but that lead and the momentum gradually dwindled over the final 26 minutes of the game.
It was a blocked punt that Edward Waters was able to recover in the end zone that gave the Tigers their first points of the day. A short punt by FMU while pinned deep in its own territory set the table for EWU to tack on a field goal and cut the Lions’ lead to 13-10 with 13:30 left in the fourth. The Tigers’ next score was aided by a Lions fumble – which halted a rhythmic FMU drive that had crossed into EWU territory – as Edward Waters turned that turnover into an 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive that gave it an 17-13 advantage over Florida Memorial.
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