They say every good cook has an off dish or two. You know the type of meal where the beans are hittin’, but the collards weren’t quite what you expected. The macaroni and cheese is okay, but it could’ve used a little more seasoning. The dressing is bussin’ but that cornbread…who wants burnt cornbread?
That’s pretty much been the story of Bethune-Cookman football this season. A meal with promise, but something always just a little off. Well, not this week and not in Daytona where BCU is 3-0 this season.
On a gray, rainy afternoon inside Daytona Stadium, B-CU finally cooked a complete meal — and Southern was the barbecue chicken.
B-CU finally cooked a complete meal — and Southern was the barbecue chicken.
Jerry Bell – HailWildcats.com
Head Coach Raymond Woodie Jr. summed it up perfectly after the game:
“That was a complete game; offense, defense, special teams”… “I thought we played a team ball type of game”.
And complete it was.
🔥 Offense Still Sizzling
The Wildcats’ offense has been putting up video game numbers averaging 40.3 points per game against SWAC competition. Saturday, they served another 45-piece special with all the fixings.
Quarterback Cam Ransom was once again the chef-in-charge, carving up the Jaguar defense. The senior from Lakeland completed 75% of his passes. He was 27 of 36 for 254 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Ransom added a 13 yard touchdown run for good measure. He was smooth, efficient, and in control all afternoon.
Ransom spread the love to eight different receivers, with Maleek Huggins leading the way (8 catches, 92 yards). Rickie Shaw II and Lorenzo Jenkins hauled in touchdown grabs from Ransom from 5 yards and 33 yards respectively.
The Wildcats finished with 498 yards of offense and — get this — no punts. Not one. They scored on every offensive drive except for a missed 51-yard field goal and two failed fourth-down tries.
🥩 Defense Serving
But make no mistake about it, the real story of this game was the defense.
“All week long Coach Woodie and the coaches emphasized tackling and stopping the run,” said defensive tackle Adrian Hall after the game. “And that’s exactly what we did.”
He’s not lying.
The missed tackles and busted coverages were gone. These issues had haunted this unit earlier in the season and last week in particular. On Saturday, we saw a defense that was aggressive, disciplined, and confident. They swarmed like a “destruction” of hungry Wildcats.
The D-line was highly active with pre-snap shifts we haven’t seen yet this season. The secondary mixed coverages a lot more than usual. Overall we saw a lot more variation and pressures from the defense. The results of the adjustments?… Southern was held to just 14 points and 267 total yards.
Stephen Sparrow Jr paced the defense with 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a pass breakup.
True freshman, Lewon Lurry Jr., added 1.5 sacks in the afternoon.
🌧️ Blame It on the Rain
Before kickoff, it looked like Mother Nature might side with the Jaguars. Rain. Wind. Sloppy field conditions. All of it seemed to favor Southern’s power-running style over Bethune’s balanced attack.
And when SU quarterback CamRon McCoy hit Darren Morris on a 71-yard slant for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, a few fans groaned, “Here we go again.”
But no sir…not this time.
The Wildcats shook it off and regrouped. They then unleashed an offensive onslaught. They scored 38 unanswered points on six of their next seven possessions.
And for those brave fans who sat through the soggy weather, you witnessed history. Saturday was the first-ever Bethune-Cookman win over Southern on the gridiron.
Those in attendance can officially say, “We were there when the Bethune finally COOKed ‘Em.”
💍 Bonus Halftime Moment
And just when you thought the afternoon couldn’t get any sweeter, the halftime show gave us a bonus proposal. Fedrick Ingram is currently the secretary-treasurer of the 1.8 million member American Federation of Teachers. Ingram is the former president of the Florida Education Association and former Marching Wildcat.
Just before “The Pride” began their halftime performance, band director Donovan Wells handed Ingram the microphone. Ingram stood on the 50-yard line with the love of his life, Tanya Cornell. She is a Southern grad. He then dropped to one knee and proposed. Cornell responded Yes…Absolutely! 🥰
Love in the rain, football on fire, and a long-awaited win in the books.
Now that’s a full-course meal.
| Statistic | BCU | SOU |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | ||
| Total | 32 | 12 |
| Rushing | 13 | 4 |
| Passing | 17 | 8 |
| Penalty | 2 | 0 |
| Rushing | ||
| Total (Net) | 227 | 65 |
| Attempts | 43 | 22 |
| Avg. Per Rush | 5.3 | 3.0 |
| Rushing TDs | 4 | 0 |
| Yds. Gained | 242 | 97 |
| Yds. Lost | 15 | 32 |
| Passing | ||
| Total (Net) | 271 | 202 |
| Comp.-Att.-Int. | 30–39-0 | 14-26-0 |
| Avg. / Att. | 6.9 | 7.8 |
| Avg. / Comp. | 9.0 | 14.4 |
| TDs | 2 | 2 |
| Total Offense | ||
| Yards | 498 | 267 |
| Plays | 82 | 48 |
| Avg. / Play | 6.1 | 5.6 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Penalties – Yds. | 8-75 | 9-60 |
| Punting | ||
| Punts – Yds. | 0-0 | 4–152 |
| Avg. / Punt | 0 | 38 |
| Inside 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 50+ Yds. | 0 | 0 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 1 |
| Fair Catch | 0 | 1 |
| Kickoffs | ||
| Total – Yds. | 8–471 | 3-168 |
| Avg. Yds. / Kickoff | 58.9 | 56.0 |
| Touchbacks | 4 | 0 |
| Returns | ||
| Punt: Total – Yds. – TDs | 1–3-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Punt: Avg. / Return | 3.0 | 0 |
| Kickoff: Total – Yds. – TDs | 3–51-0 | 2-19-0 |
| Kickoff: Avg. / Return | 17.0 | 9.5 |
| INT: Total – Yds. – TDs | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Fumble: Total – Yds. – TDs | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Miscellaneous | ||
| Misc. Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Poss. Time | 41:41 | 18:19 |
| 3rd. Down Conv. | 8 of 13 | 1 of 9 |
| 4th. Down Conversions | 1 of 3 | 1 of 4 |
| Red-Zone: Scores – Chances | 6–6 | 1-1 |
| Sacks: Total – Yds. | 3–16 | 1-2 |
| PAT: Total – Made | 6–6 | 2-2 |
| 2PT Conversion: Total – Made | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Field Goals: Total – Made | 1–2 | 0-0 |
Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | BCU | SOU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 09:38 | SOU – Morris,Darren 71 yd pass from McCoy,Cam’Ron (Zimmer,Nathan kick) 1 plays, 66 yards, TOP 00:10 | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | 02:24 | BCU – Ransom,Cam’Ron 13 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 13 plays, 83 yards, TOP 07:07 | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 13:32 | BCU – Brown,Rashon 12 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 4 plays, 47 yards, TOP 01:31 | 14 | 7 |
| 2nd | 06:01 | BCU – Shaw II,Rickie 5 yd pass from Ransom,Cam’Ron (Dominguez,Juan kick) 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 05:12 | 21 | 7 |
| 3rd | 07:00 | BCU – Scott Jr.,Alihaja 2 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:26 | 28 | 7 |
| 3rd | 02:54 | BCU – Dominguez,Juan 32 yd field goal 6 plays, 11 yards, TOP 02:38 | 31 | 7 |
| 3rd | 01:50 | BCU – Jenkins,Lorenzo 33 yd pass from Ransom,Cam’Ron (Dominguez,Juan kick) 2 plays, 33 yards, TOP 00:10 | 38 | 7 |
| 4th | 13:34 | SOU – Jackson,Malachi 15 yd pass from Strother,Ashton (Zimmer,Nathan kick) 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 03:10 | 38 | 14 |
| 4th | 04:59 | BCU – Rodriguez,Juan 19 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 12 plays, 90 yards, TOP 08:28 | 45 | 14 |
| 45 | 14 |
HailWildcats.com 