Southern 30, Bethune-Cookman 29

(JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sept. 2, 2006)  Southern University overcame just one (1) yard rushing in the game to fight off a resurgent Bethune-Cookman College football team on Saturday night at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. for a hard-fought 30-29 win in the 53rd Annual Gateway Classic.

Once again, it came down to the kicking game for Bethune-Cookman (0-1) who, for the second-straight year, saw their hopes of winning the Gateway Classic slip away—one way or another—on a missed kick.  After a Jimmie Russell (Jonesboro, Ga.) to Paul Neufville (Miami, Fla.) 34-yard passing touchdown put the Wildcats behind by just one point (24-23) with 1:07 remaining in the third quarter, the extra-point attempt by senior Jesus Cortez (Ft. Meade, Fla.) was wide right … a saying that many in the state of Florida have become all too familiar with over the years of the state’s great tradition of football.

“It was just a miss,” stated a dejected Cortez afterwards.  “I put my head down, eyed the ball and kicked, but it just missed.  This is just becoming an old story for me and this team.  I am just tired of reading the same headlines and same old story after these games.”

But the ‘Cats still had plenty of time to fight back, and fight back they did.
B-CC held Southern (1-0) on their next set of downs, and the “Wyattbone” offense, ran by Russell for the entire 60 minutes of play, looked as smooth as ever as it took the Wildcats just five plays and two minutes and 26 seconds to cover 34 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.  The TD came via a Russell one-yard plunge over the middle on the quarterback sneak.

With B-CC ahead just 29-24, head coach Alvin Wyatt decided to go for the two-point conversion in order to put the ‘Cats ahead by three, instead of by just a point at 29-24.  Southern would nee just a field goal either way to win the game if the extra point was good.  But the two-point conversion attempt, a pass from Russell to senior receiver Eric Weems (Ormond Beach, Fla.), went right through the outstretched hands on his receiver.
The momentum in the game had shifted, but Southern—using timely mistakes by B-CC all night long, whether by penalty or turnover, used one of B-CC’s costly three (3) fumbles in the game to take the lead for good midway through the final stanza.

Jimmie Russell’s option to the right side was perfect until he was hit by Southern’s Vincent Lands who jarred the ball loose, and it was scooped up by Keidrick Bailey of the Jaguars at the B-CC 27 yard line.

“I worked hard during the off-season not to put myself in situations like that, but I just let go of the ball,” expressed Russell.  “We moved the ball well all night, but there offense took advantage of our mistakes, and we can’t keep putting it all on our defense to hold all the time.”

Southern quarterback JC Lewis looked smooth and efficient on the drive as Jaguars head coach Pete Richardson simply threw the running playbook out the window after the B-CC front line and linebackers all but stopped any attempts at those options.

Lewis hit Mark Henderson for 19 yards on the right side, and then laced a two-yard touchdown pass to Evan Alexander on a simple curl route for the go-ahead score at 30-29.  Southern’s attempt at a two-point conversion themselves was incomplete as B-CC cornerback Ben Ballard (Jacksonville, Fla.) got a hand in on the attempt to Alexander.
Bethune-Cookman did get the ball back twice more before the end of the game, but saw their final gasps at victory deflated in the end when the passing game came up short on a deep fly pattern to Stephon Walker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on 4th and 16 from their own side of the field.

The Wildcat defense, praised so heavily over the summer with the additions of Avery Atkins (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and USF transfer Ronnie McCullough (Tampa, Fla.), added Taurean Charles (Miami, Fla.) and the entire defensive line, found the defensive secondary a bit behind in the second half.  The Jaguars struck for 271 yards through the air, including a 55-yard play in which receiver Gerard Landry broke away from three (3) B-CC defenders and bounced off another en route to a touchdown during the second quarter of play.

The ‘Cats did, as already mentioned, stop the Southern rushing attack with just one yard rushing on the night.  Charles led all defenders with 10 tackles (six assists), while Ronnie McCullough chipped in with nine tackles of his own in his B-CC debut.

The Southern offense, using a vaunted spread attack, was led by JC Lewis who completed 24-of-38 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns.  He becomes the first opposing quarterback in over 30 years to complete four TD strikes in a game against the ‘Cats.  He did it effectively, as well by completing the TDs to four separate receivers in Landry (5 rec. / 110 yds.), Del Roberts (5 rec. / 27 yds.), Alexander (4 rec. / 24 yds.) and Brian Washington (1 rec. / 14 yds).

Meanwhile, the Jaguars defense was led by DJ Brooks with eight tackles (seven assists) including one quarterback sack and one pass deflection.  Behind him were Michael Williams (seven tackles / one fumble recovery) and John Malveaux (six tackles / one forced fumble).

Weems was the leading receiver for the ‘Cats, catching six passes for 51 yards.  Johnathan Summers (Jacksonville, Fla.) caught five passes for a team-high 94 yards and one touchdown.

“We made the right plays, and our defense was tough, but we have to find a way to stop beating ourselves,” admitted Alvin Wyatt.  “Give Southern credit because they did what they were supposed to do, and that is take advantage of our mistakes.  But we see what we have to work on, and we will definitely learn from this and be ready next weekend.”