Florida A&M 25, Winston-Salem State 21

September 23, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Anthony Edwards’ one-yard touchdown run with 36 seconds remaining propelled the Florida A&M University Rattlers to a 25-21 victory over the Winston-Salem State University Rams at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday evening as FAMU scored 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points to drop the Rams to 1-3 on the season.

The Rams played three quarters of nearly flawless football en route to an 11-point fourth-quarter lead as it looked as though WSSU would earn a win in their first-ever meeting with the Rattlers of FAMU.

However, Florida A&M quarterback Albert Chester proved to be the difference as he engineered a pair of touchdown drives and a two-point conversion over the games’ final nine minutes of play to propel the Rattlers to victory.

Trailing 21-10 with just under nine minutes to play in the contest, Chester led the Rattlers to a quick score and two-point conversion as he used superior foot speed to keep the Ram defense at bay. 

Capping a five-play, 43-yard drive, Chester rushed his way into the enzdone from two yards out to cut the Rams’ lead to 21-16.  A successful Chester pass attempt gave the Rattlers the two-point conversion, cutting the FAMU deficit to only a field goal.

Stalling on offense, the Rams were forced to punt the ball back to the Rattlers, setting up Chester’s drive and FAMU’s winning score. 

The Rattlers effectively chewed up the clock before punching the ball into the endzone from one yard out as Anthony Edwards put the finishing touches on an eight-play, 62-yard drive that sealed WSSU’s fate and snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat for Florida A&M.

WSSU quarterback Monte Purvis had a stellar game as he recorded a pair of rushing touchdowns, and freshman running back Brandon McRae continued to impress as he tallied a touchdown run of his own.

WSSU recorded their first 100-yard rusher of the year as Tionti Powell tallied 114 yards on 13 carries in the losing effort.

The loss drops the Rams to 1-3 overall while the Rattlers improve to 2-2 overall (1-1 MEAC) with the win.

WSSU returns to action on Saturday, September 30, 2006 as they play host to the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina at Bowman Gray Stadium.  Kickoff is slated for 6:00 pm.