A Win to Remember
Saturday nights don’t come much sweeter than this past one if you’re a Bethune-Cookman supporter. There were lots of laughs, lies, and liquor being shared at Bethune-Cookman’s homecoming.
Oh, and there was a football game too. Thankfully for the nearly 10,000 BCU fans that packed into Daytona Stadium, the Wildcats rolled to a 31–14 victory over Arkansas–Pine Bluff.
Game Recap — How It Went Down
From start to finish, Raymond Woodie’s men were more steadily assertive than flashy. It took the offense a little while to knock off the rust from the bye week and from the homecoming jitters. But it was pretty clear from the start that Bethune was the better football team.
First quarter: BCU struck early with a 1-yard Ransom rush to make it 7–0.
Second quarter: BCU squandered several offensive drives with miscues and were eventually punished by UAPB. The Lions blocked and recovered a BCU punt at the Wildcat 2 yard line. One play later, Jaylen Jenkins rushed it in to tie the score at 7 apiece with 3:15 remaining before halftime.
Soon after, Bethune woke up and asserted their dominance in the contest. The Cats used a 9-play, 65 yard drive, capped by a Alihaja Scott Jr. rush from 5 yards to stretch the lead to 14–7 going into the break.
Third quarter: BCU put the game away with TD runs from Ransom and Khamani Robinson pushing the lead to 28–14.
Fourth quarter: A chip-shot field goal by Juan Dominguez sealed the deal at 31–14.
Breaking the Homecoming Hex
2025 is the year BCU football is getting its mojo back yall. On an evening in which the Wildcats were not at their peak, they still cruised to a comfortable homecoming victory. Allow me to say that again: Comfortable. Homecoming. Victory.
That’s worth smiling over because homecomings had become a sore spot around these parts in recent memory. The last win in front of a homecoming crowd came in 2018.
That’s seven years of heartbreak and bad juju… but not today Satan.
With the stands full, the Pride in full voice, the liars still lying and the liquor finally wearing off under the setting sun, Coach Woodie’s guys owned the moment and broke hex.
Undefeated at Home — and Unfinished Business
The win allowed the Wildcats to remain undefeated at home this season and the program continues to trend upward. Heck, the program ain’t that far away from saying “we’re back”. They can certainly say “we’re back in the SWAC East Title conversation”.
Eyes on the Prize — SWAC East and Beyond
Saturday’s win helped the Wildcats remain firmly in the SWAC East title hunt. The goal is simple for BCU: win the remaining games on your schedule. It’s that simple from the Wildcat perspective.
If the Cats keep winning, they will still need an Alabama State loss to be crowned the East representative in the SWAC Title Game. So for the next two weeks, the BCU contingent will be rooting for either Prairie View or Texas Southern to take down Big Bama State.
I know that’s a lot of “ifs and buts”; however, it’s just fun to be in conversations about conference titles this late in the season again.
Like I said, BCU football is getting its mono back; and that ain’t no lie or liquor talking!
| Statistic | UAP | BCU |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | ||
| Total | 16 | 22 |
| Rushing | 6 | 14 |
| Passing | 8 | 7 |
| Penalty | 2 | 1 |
| Rushing | ||
| Total (Net) | 112 | 247 |
| Attempts | 25 | 53 |
| Avg. Per Rush | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| Rushing TDs | 1 | 4 |
| Yds. Gained | 134 | 279 |
| Yds. Lost | 22 | 32 |
| Passing | ||
| Total (Net) | 185 | 170 |
| Comp.-Att.-Int. | 20–41-0 | 13-20-0 |
| Avg. / Att. | 4.5 | 8.5 |
| Avg. / Comp. | 9.3 | 13.1 |
| TDs | 1 | 0 |
| Total Offense | ||
| Yards | 297 | 417 |
| Plays | 66 | 73 |
| Avg. / Play | 4.5 | 5.7 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 1–1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties – Yds. | 4-30 | 8–75 |
| Punting | ||
| Punts – Yds. | 7–264 | 6-201 |
| Avg. / Punt | 37.7 | 33.5 |
| Inside 20 | 1 | 3 |
| 50+ Yds. | 1 | 1 |
| Touchbacks | 1 | 1 |
| Fair Catch | 1 | 1 |
| Kickoffs | ||
| Total – Yds. | 3-72 | 6–383 |
| Avg. Yds. / Kickoff | 24.0 | 63.8 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 3 |
| Returns | ||
| Punt: Total – Yds. – TDs | 2–28-0 | 1-0-0 |
| Punt: Avg. / Return | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| Kickoff: Total – Yds. – TDs | 1-19-0 | 2–65-0 |
| Kickoff: Avg. / Return | 19.0 | 32.5 |
| 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 | 26:16 | 33:44 |
| 3rd. Down Conv. | 6 of 16 | 5 of 14 |
| 4th. Down Conversions | 0 of 2 | 1 of 2 |
| Red-Zone: Scores – Chances | 1-1 | 5–6 |
| Sacks: Total – Yds. | 2-16 | 2-21 |
| PAT: Total – Made | 2-2 | 4–4 |
| 2PT Conversion: Total – Made | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Field Goals: Total – Made | 0-0 | 1–1 |
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | UAP | BCU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 06:52 | BCU – Ransom,Cam’Ron 1 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 10 plays, 61 yards, TOP 05:03 | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | 03:15 | UAP – Jennings,Jaylen 2 yd run (Glymph,Trey kick), 1 plays, 2 yards, TOP 00:05 | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 00:40 | BCU – Scott Jr.,Alihaja 5 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 02:35 | 7 | 14 |
| 3rd | 06:40 | BCU – Ransom,Cam’Ron 2 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 4 plays, 43 yards, TOP 01:50 | 7 | 21 |
| 3rd | 05:33 | UAP – Robinson,D’Avery 34 yd pass from Peters,Christian (Glymph,Trey kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:07 | 14 | 21 |
| 3rd | 04:48 | BCU – Robinson,Khamani 5 yd run (Dominguez,Juan kick), 2 plays, 58 yards, TOP 00:37 | 14 | 28 |
| 4th | 10:25 | BCU – Dominguez,Juan 25 yd field goal 17 plays, 68 yards, TOP 08:03 | 14 | 31 |
| 14 | 31 |
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