By Richard A. Moore
The Florida A&M University (FAMU) Rattlers essentially took the day off on Saturday as they outplayed Division II Lincoln University with mostly second and third-team players, giving Rattler fans a look into the future.
Even with that, the “Dark Cloud” defense lived up to its name as the Rattlers shut out their opponent 28 – 0.
FAMU struggled early in the game as the reserves had a little rust to be knocked off before they could get to striking. Jaquez Yant gave the crowd a bit of relief as he scored on a one-yard run with 16 seconds left in the first quarter in a drive that consumed 4:42 minutes.
Cameron Gillis, who was a perfect 4 of 4 on the night, added the extra point to make the score 7-0. Yant would score in the 4th Quarter to all but put the opponents asleep with a four-yard touchdown run with 1:02 left on the clock in a drive that consumed a whopping 8:11.
The Rattlers picked up two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown as Deco Wilson took his INT to the house from 51 yards out to give the Rattlers a comfortable 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
On the second interception, the Rattlers appeared to be in a zone defense and Deco read the QB down the line and stepped in front of the pass to an outside receiver and he was home free quickly down the sideline.
Ten different players ran for a total of 141 yards on the day with no one rushing for more than 53 yards as everyone got a piece of the action Saturday. Terrell Jennings led the team with 53 yards and he had one long run of 17 yards. But Yant was the man as he was able to find the paydirt twice on Saturday.
Conversely, the Oaklanders only rushed for a total of 32 yards and two first downs. They fared far better passing where they amassed some 139 yards and 14 completions in 27 attempts and two interceptions.
Lincoln’s QB TJ Goodwin completed 50 percent of his passes and had a decent day; if it were not for the interceptions. He accounted for more yards than any other player in the game. Lincoln’s leading rusher was Otis Weah with 31 net yards.
The fun play of the day had to be the second FAMU interception that bounced off the head of a Lincoln receiver and popped some 10 yards or more in the air and James Ash plucked it down and lost five yards on the return.
Lincoln had the first and last possession of the second half but could not manage to get close to scoring in the game and never really mounted a serious threat.
All in all, the “Dark Cloud” defense rained on Lincoln all night long.
The Rattlers will play their arch rival Bethune Cookman University, who ran their win streak to two games after defeating Mississippi Valley and Alabama A&M on consecutive weekends. Their confidence is riding high and that gives them hope against the Rattlers!
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