By Nunnie Robinson, The Westside Gazette Sports Editor
The Orange Blossom Classic traditionally featured the FAMU Rattlers versus a worthy opponent as was the case for previous 2 years (Jackson State University vs. FAMU) since its resurrection. The Denny’s Orange Blossom Classic committee chose defending MEAC Champion North Carolina Central University to compete against the Alabama State University Hornets who are predicted to win the SWAC championship. The game, scheduled to start at 1:00 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Garden, didn’t actually begin until around 3:00 pm due to inclement weather, an element that would become a recurring theme.
NCCU took the opening kickoff and drove the ball down the field, adroitly mixing the running and passing game before scoring on a 1 yard touchdown carry by workhorse running back J’ Mari Taylor with 8:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Charlotte, NC native from West Mechlenburg High subsequently scored on a 5 yard TD run at the 13:16 juncture in second quarter, increasing the Eagles’ lead to 14-0. PK Juan Verlarde made both conversions. The game then took a turn for the worst for the Hornets as they attempted a comeback. With 12:23 remaining in the second quarter, senior cornerback Kole Jones intercepted a Hornets pass, returning it for a 31 yard touchdown, extending the lead to 21-0, and placing the proud Hornets in an untenable situation. On the ensuing kickoff, Bama State’s A J Gates returned it 82 yards for a touchdown, giving the Hornets new life, changing the game’s momentum when it was so desperately needed. With 3:53 remaining in the second quarter, ASU quarterback Andrew Body, a Texas native who previously played at Texas Southern, scored on a 38 yard touchdown run, making the score 21-14 after Hornets placekicker B. Connon Goode converted both PATs.
And that’s how the first half ended.
After receiving the second half kickoff, the Hornets were forced to start at the 4 yard line after unfortunately touching ball and knocking it out of bounds. The foreboding weather caused another delay which lasted for one and half hours. Though each team was given the same amount of time to warm up before resuming play, it was obvious that NCCU took full advantage of the allotted time, going through their normal pre-game routine while the Hornets appeared to stand around more. I’m not certain if that had anything to do with outcome of the game as the Eagles controlled the line of scrimmage from the outset.
After exchanging field goals in the third quarter, making the score 24-17 while maintaining a 7 point lead, the Eagles proved the better team by increasing their advantage in the fourth quarter when quarterback Will Harris threw a 14 yard touchdown pass to J’Mari Taylor, who finished with 128 rushing yards on 24 carries, 2 rushing and 1 receiving. His play proved vital in basically sealing the victory for the Eagles.
Alabama State battled valiantly behind the play of quarterback Andrew Body who scored his second rushing touchdown, a 39 yard scamper with 3:24 remaining in the game. It was Body’s stellar play that kept ASU competitive. The score by ASU quarterback Andrew Body would be game’s last, resulting in a 31-24 Eagles victory.
In the post game press conference, Head Coach Eddie Robinson, Jr (Alabama State) stated, “We came down here, played in the Orange Blossom Classic and, unfortunately, things did not go our way at the end.
But I loved the way my kids fought. We made some first-day mistakes on special teams, had a blocked punt … we thrive on special teams and defense. I thought my kids played hard the entire time — being down with the adversity of the weather and all that. We cut it to a one score game with three timeouts and 1:40 left to play; we put ourselves in position to win the game. These guys never quit.
“But North Carolina Central … Coach Trei Oliver talked the talk and walked the walk. They were more physical than us, ran the ball when they wanted to, which is not good. There are a lot of things we need to work on; coaches need to get better, players need to get better. We know what we want out of this season and everything we want to accomplish is still in front of us. It’s really disappointing to start with a loss and, we have a really tough game next week. We’ll swallow this one. When we wake up tomorrow morning, it’s the beginning of a brand new day.’’
Stated North Carolina Central Coach Trey Oliver:
“Heck of a game to watch, but I don’t know about coaching in it. Good, hard fought game against a good Alabama State team. We knew they were going to make some plays and we had to answer. We responded when we faced adversity. We had about a seven-minute stretch in the fourth which was ridiculous. Probably the worst-coached game I have coached. So I have to do a better job of putting our student-athletes into a better situation.
“But the guys kept fighting; when [Alabama State] had momentum, and our guys had their backs against the wall, we just kept fighting. So I take my hat off to my players. Great game. We need to clean some things up, but that is a lot easier after a win.’’
RB J’Mari Taylor (North Carolina Central University) “It felt great, I give a big shout out to my coaches, my offensive coordinator, my offensive line, my whole team, actually, for putting me in a good position to run the ball. We preached unity all practice and if we got the run game going, it would open up everything else.
SS Cole Jones (North Carolina Central University) “The Pick-6 was just me doing my job and I have to do it at a high level. It’s not about doing too much, but doing a simple job. And it was cool playing in the Orange Blossom Classic, being able to play in an NFL stadium. But we also fought off adversity from lightning delays and stuff. It was good to be able to keep going.’’