Florida A&M 24, Morgan State 23

October 28, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida A&M’s Gregory Clark intercepted a Mario Melton pass with 46 seconds left in the game to seal a 24-23 homecoming win over Morgan State, Saturday afternoon at Bragg Memorial Stadium.

MSU (4-5, 3-3 MEAC) recovered a Roosevelt Kiser fumble and converted it into a touchdown on a Melton 53-yard TD run, to give the Bears a 7-0 lead with 6:41 remaining in the first quarter.

FAMU tied the game at seven all as the first quarter ended, when Albert Chester connected with Willie Hayward for a 35-yard TD reception.

MSU would take a 14-7 lead on a 32-yard TD run by Chad Simpson with 12:48 remaining in the second quarter. Simpson accounted for all of MSU’s yards on that drive, as he rushed for 49 yards on four carries.

The Rattlers tied the score at 14 all on an Albert Chester seven-yard TD run with 5:44 remaining in the second quarter.

FAMU would then take a 21-14 lead Chester’s 15-yard TD pass to Roosevelt Kiser with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter, giving the Rattlers their first-ever halftime lead this season.

The Bears tied the game at 21 all in the fourth period, when Melton connected with Rhonnie Sykes on a 10-yard TD pass with 12:40 remaining in the game.

FAMU took a 24-21 lead on a Wesley Taylor 20-yard field goal with 9:06 remaining in the contest, but MSU would cut Rattler lead to 24-23, when RB Anthony Edwards was tackled in the Rattler end zone by Jerrell Guyton for a safety with 1:19 left.

Taylor’s free kick following the safety pinned the Bears down at their own 10-yard line and on second down, Melton’s pass was picked off by Clark to seal the victory – FAMU’s 12th straight at homecoming since a 24-20 loss to Morgan State in 1994.

The Rattler offense punched out 381 yards (88 rushing, 293 passing) of total offense Saturday, with back up quarterback Leon Camel leading the Rattlers in rushing with 42 yards on six carries.

Willie Hayward led the team in receiving with 95 yards on five receptions with one TD, followed by Kiser with 37 yards on five receptions and one TD.

Chester led the team in passing, connecting on 16 completion in 21 attempts for 217 yards, with two passing TDs and one interception, before leaving the game with a hand injury in the third period. Camel finished with six completions in 13 attempts for 76 yards and one interception.

MSU was led by Chad Simpson with 130 yards rushing on 20 carries and one TD.

Melton led the team in passing, completing eight passes in 18 attempts for 111 yards and one TD. Robert Surret led the team in receiving with 56 yards on two receptions.

The FAMU defense held MSU to 319 total yards (208 rushing, 111 passing) with one interception for seven yards, and five tackles for a loss of 20 yards.

Leading the way for the Rattlers was LB Vernon Wilder with 13 tackles (4 solo, 9 assists) and a half tackle for a loss of two yards. He was followed by Demetris Lane in his first start at interior tackle garnered seven tackles (3 solo, 4 assisted) and two tackles for a loss of three yards.

MSU defensively finished the game with seven and one-half tackles for a loss of 25 yards, two fumble recovered, one interception and three sacks for a loss of 17 yards. ‘
Darius Leak led the team in tackles with 14 (7 solo, 7 assisted) and a half tackle for a loss. Guyton led the team in sacks with four for a loss of 13 yards. In addition, he had two sacks for a loss of 10 yards.

Next week, the Rattlers will travel to Greensboro, N.C., to take on winless North Carolina A&T on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Aggie Stadium at 4 p.m.