BCU leads FIU 14-7 at the half

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Bethune-Cookman takes a 14-7 lead to the half over Florida International in Miami.  The Wildcats are controlling both lines of scrimmage rushing for 182 yards on offense on 25 carries.  That is a whopping 7.3 yards per carry.  Defensively BCU is holding the FIU offense to 2.3 yards per rushing attempt.

Anthony Jordan scored on a 58 yard TD run on BCU’s first offensive series capping off a 4 play, 91 yard drive that covered 1:28.  FIU evened the score at 7 apiece on an 8 yard pass from Jake Medlock to T.J. Lowder at the 6:51 mark in the 2nd.

Cary White’s 5 yard TD run pushed BCU’s lead back to 7 and capped a 66 yard scoring drive.

Anthony Jordan is averaging 12.6 yards per rush.

BCU takes over possession when we resume play after half.

Team Stats COOK   FIU
First Downs 11 5
Total Plays 36 29
Total Yards 207 171
Passing 25 128
Rushing 182 43
Penalties 2 / 25 3 / 19
Possession 14:55 14:12
Turnovers 0 0

Who Will Ascend (Week Three) at FIU

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bethune-cookman    at    florida-international-11

Sat., Sept. 14, 2013

Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium

 

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-0) travel south this weekend to take on the Florida International Panthers (0-2) in Miami on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.  The Wildcats will look to improve to 3-0 on the season, 3-0 all-time against FIU, and secure its first ever win over a FBS opponent (FIU had not yet made the jump to the FBS level when the teams last meet in 2003).

Vegas Wild about the Cats

The Vegas sports betting odds opened on Monday with FIU favored by 3 points. The betting line moved 5.5 points in BCU’s favor within an hour of the spread being posted and another .5 point within 2 hours.  By 3:45 p.m. on Monday afternoon, BCU had gone from 3 point underdogs to 3 point road favorites. You heard right; that is not a misprint.   Vegas has a road FCS squad (BCU) favored by 3 points over a FBS team (FIU) in their home stadium.  OUCH!!! 

Vegas sports betting trends suggests the “wise guys” otherwise known as professional gamblers saw value in BCU and bet the line in BCU’s favor.  The line has remained the same for most of the week.

The Matchup

Florida International is ranked dead last in the nation in scoring offense averaging a mere 5 points per game.  Defensively the Panthers are allowing 483 yards per game and rank 108th out of 123 FBS teams.  Ron Turner started 11 new players when FIU took on Maryland in week one. The team has dealt with a rash of injuries in their first 2 games of the year.  The injuries are compounded by the already heavy attrition issues resulting from a tumultuous offseason in which FIU’s leading receiver, Glenn Coleman; starting running back, Kedrick Rhodes, and cornerback Richard Leonard were all ruled ineligible for academic reasons.  Transfer running back Jakhari Gore was kicked off the team for off the field issues.

Meanwhile Bethune-Cookman is averaging 362 yards and 39 points per game on offense while yielding just 215 yards and 8 points per game on defense.

BCU is unbeaten in their two prior meetings with FIU defeating the Panthers 31-0 in 2002 and 24-14 in 2003.  Like this season, BCU was ranked in the FCS Top 25 at the time of their prior clashes with the Panthers (#21 in 2002 and #7 in 2003).

A win on Saturday will mark the first time in the history of the BCU football program and only the 2nd time in MEAC history that a conference school has defeated a current FBS foe.  Florida A&M defeated the University of Miami 16-13 in 1979.

Road Warriors

The Marching Wildcats will join the football team at Alfonso Field on Saturday.  “The Pride” has performed in Nashville, Daytona, Jacksonville, and now Miami in less than 14 days.  The band is also expected to travel to Tallahassee for the Florida State contest on the 21st and will soon make an appearance at Raymond James Stadium for a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game according to what we are being told.  Give it up for the band.

The game will be streamed live at FIUSports.com. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

MEAC Power 5 (Week Two)

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Credits: BlueDeathValley.com

Credits: BlueDeathValley.com

Week two is officially in the bags and all 11 MEAC teams now have at least one game under their belts.  Here is how we stack the conference’s Top 5 teams after week two.

1.  Bethune-Cookman debuts in the top spot in our first Power 5 poll of 2013.  BCU dominated an out-manned Virginia Union squad and cruised to a 66-7 victory in this past Saturday’s home opener.  The Cat’s 12-9 week one win over Tennessee State looks even more impressive after watching TSU handle Florida A&M rather easily in Tallahassee last weekend.  The Wildcats travel to Miami this week to face FBS opponent Florida International in a game in which Vegas has BCU favored to win by 3 points.

2.  You can make an argument for North Carolina A&T to hold this week’s top position after their performance against Appalachian State on Saturday night.  The Aggies dominated the run of play against App State and the final score (24-21) was not indicative of the one-sided nature of this contest.  Some have attempted to discredit A&T’s win over the Mountaineers as more of an indictment of the current state of Appalachian State football…but we’re not buying it.   App State still recruits top athletes and they simply do not lose many games at “The Rock”.  Huge congratulations are in order to coach Rod Broadway and the Aggie football team for this impressive early season victory in Boone, NC on Saturday.  NCA&T will look continue their winning ways when they face-off against Elon of the Southern conference in Greensboro on Saturday.

3.  The Howard Bison land in the third spot in our poll.  HU quarterback Greg McGhee threw for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns in Howard’s 27-16 win over Morehouse in the Nation’s Football Classic in D.C.  The HU defense registered 9 sacks in the contest.

4.  Delaware State racked up over 400 yards of total offense in their season opening loss to in-state rival Delaware on Saturday.  If the Hornets clean things up, look for them to be a factor in the MEAC race this season.

Spots 5-7 are a crap shot at this moment but we slotted South Carolina State in the 5th position based on talent alone.  Their week two loss to Clemson was fully expected and excluded from any sort of legitimate football analysis.  If anything, the Bulldogs can hang their collective hats on the fact that they only gave up 14 points to the Tigers in the second half of the contest.  On the other side of that coin is the week one loss to Coastal Carolina.  SCSU fans are still sick over that one and really feel like they let one get away against the Chanticleers.

Monroe earns 2nd Weekly MEAC honor

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white helmetAlex Monroe has been named MEAC Offensive Lineman of the week for the 2nd consecutive week the conference announced on Monday evening. Monroe (LT, 6-5, 305, Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.) paved the way for a season-high 464 yards of total offense in a 66-7 win over Virginia Union.  He blocked for three different quarterbacks and aided B-CU to amass the most points since 2010 (vs. N.C. A&T 67 points; Oct. 28).  He also added two pancake blocks while receiving a grade of 93-percent on his assignments. 

Howard’s Greg McGhee was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s (MEAC) Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday. D’Vonte Grant, of North Carolina A&T, was named Defensive Player of the Week.

Other Top Performers

Nick Addison (B-CU) returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown and collected four tackles, two solo, against Virginia Union.

Jontavious Carter (B-CU) finished the game with two catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ victory over Virginia Union.

Cary White (B-CU) rushed for 62 yards on eight attempts with one touchdown versus Virginia Union.

Cats too tough for Panthers

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Credits: BCU Athletics

Credits: BCU Athletics

Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bethune-Cookman jumped to a 31-point halftime lead and added four second-half touchdowns to complete a 66-7 rout of Virginia Union on Saturday.

Bethune-Cookman (2-0) head coach Brian Jenkins relied on what he likes to call their three-headed monster at quarterback. Seniors Brodrick Waters and Jackie Wilson and junior Quentin Williams each threw a touchdown pass and combined to complete 13 of 20 passes for 182 yards.

Eight different receivers caught passes for the Wildcats, marking the first time that’s happened since 2010. Jontavious Carter had two touchdown receptions.

The Wildcats defense scored twice in the first half on interceptions by Nick Addison and Nesley Marcellon.

Eric Shaw led the Virginia Union (0-1) ground attack with 14 carries for 65 yards.

The game was first meeting between the two programs since the 1953 Tropical Bowl which Virginia Union won 13-0.

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER  VIR COOK
FG 09:47 Jonathan Cagle 20 Yd 0 3
TD 05:39 Erik Williams 41 Yd Interception Return (Brodrick Waters Run For Two-Point Conversion) 0 11
TD 00:19 Quentin Williams 5 Yd Run (Pat Blocked) 0 17
SECOND QUARTER VIR COOK
VIR TD 08:04 Damon Kelly 1 Yd Run (Troy Krepich Kick) 7 17
TD 06:09 Cary White 1 Yd Run (Jonathan Cagle Kick) 7 24
TD 05:53 Nick Addison 38 Yd Interception Return (Jonathan Cagle Kick) 7 31
TD 03:32 Anthony Jordan 20 Yd Run (Jonathan Cagle Kick) 7 38
THIRD QUARTER VIR COOK
TD 11:25 Jontavious Carter 16 Yd Pass From Jackie Wilson (Jonathan Cagle Kick) 7 45
TD 03:05 Jontavious Carter 22 Yd Pass From Brodrick Waters (Jonathan Cagle Kick) 7 52
FOURTH QUARTER VIR COOK
TD 06:21 Drexler Dixon 12 Yd Run (Jonathan Cagle Kick) 7 59
TD 02:11 Michael Jones 16 Yd Pass From Quentin Williams (Jonathan Cagle Kick) 7 66

Team Stat Comparison

VIR

COOK
1st Downs 14 25
3rd down efficiency
 6-16 8-11
4th down efficiency
 1-4 0-2
Total Yards 182 464
Passing 87 182
Comp-Att
 12-23 13-20
Yards per pass
 3.8 9.1
Rushing 95 282
Rushing Attempts
 45 44
Yards per rush
 2.1 6.4
Penalties 7-74 10-68
Turnovers 3 1
Fumbles lost
 0 0
Interceptions thrown
 3 1
Possession 38:11 21:49

Virginia Union Passing
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
S. Dowdy 5/9 44 4.9 0 1
K. Graham 7/14 43 3.1 0 2
Team 12/23 87 3.8 0 3

Bethune-Cookman Passing
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
Q. Williams 4/5 73 14.6 1 1
J. Wilson 5/7 55 7.9 1 0
B. Waters 4/8 54 6.8 1 0
Team 13/20 182 9.1 3 1

Virginia Union Rushing
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
E. Shaw 14 65 4.6 0 20
D. Kelly 19 41 2.2 1 7
S. Dowdy 6 3 0.5 0 13
M. Parker 1 2 2.0 0 2
T. Malone 4 1 0.3 0 2
J. Reynoso 1 -17 -17.0 0 0
Team 45 95 2.1 1 20

Bethune-Cookman Rushing
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
C. White 8 62 7.8 1 23
A. Jordan 6 45 7.5 1 20
I. Jackson 6 45 7.5 0 47
D. Dixon 5 32 6.4 1 12
Q. Williams 4 32 8.0 1 15
D. Arnold 7 28 4.0 0 7
J. Wilson 4 24 6.0 0 15
B. Waters 4 14 3.5 0 9
Team 44 282 6.4 4 47

Virginia Union Receiving
REC YDS AVG TD LG
M. Holmes 4 41 10.3 0 14
D. Duchenne 1 24 24.0 0 24
J. Wright 3 12 4.0 0 8
D. Anderson 1 4 4.0 0 4
A. Davis 1 3 3.0 0 3
E. Shaw 1 2 2.0 0 2
M. Parker 1 1 1.0 0 1
Team 12 87 7.3 0 24

Bethune-Cookman Receiving
REC YDS AVG TD LG
E. Poole 1 44 44.0 0 44
J. Carter 2 38 19.0 2 22
J. Gordon 3 28 9.3 0 13
J. Davis 2 19 9.5 0 11
M. Jones 1 16 16.0 1 16
I. Virgin 1 14 14.0 0 14
A. Jordan 1 9 9.0 0 9
J. Lumas 1 7 7.0 0 7
J. Murphy 1 7 7.0 0 7
Team 13 182 14.0 3 44

Virginia Union Interceptions
INT YDS TD
J. Blanks 1 9 0
Team 0 0 0

Bethune-Cookman Interceptions
INT YDS TD
E. Williams 1 41 1
N. Addison 1 38 1
J. Richardson 1 0 0
Team 0 0 2

Virginia Union Kick Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
M. Norris 4 104 26.0 35
D. Duchenne 4 87 21.8 32
M. Parker 1 12 12.0 12
J. Lewis 1 0 0.0 0
Team 10 203 20.3 35

Bethune-Cookman Kick Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
J. Carter 1 28 28.0 28
Team 1 28 28.0 28

Virginia Union Punt Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
Team 0 0 0.0 0

Bethune-Cookman Punt Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
J. Borgella 1 14 14.0 0
P. Cleckley 1 7 7.0 7
D. Baker 1 0 0.0 0
Team 3 21 7.0 7

Virginia Union Kicking
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
T. Krepich 0/0 0.0 — 1/1 1
Team 0/0 0.0 — 1/1 1

Bethune-Cookman Kicking
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
J. Cagle 1/1 100.0 20 7/8 10
Team 1/1 100.0 20 7/8 10

Virginia Union Punting
TOT YDS AVG TB -20 LG
J. Reynoso 4 105 26.3 0 0 37
-. Team 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Team 5 105 21.0 0 0 37

Bethune-Cookman Punting
TOT YDS AVG TB -20 LG
Team 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
ATTENDANCE: 6,478

Who Will Ascend (week two) vs. Virginia Union

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Dion Hanks

Dion Hanks

After a hard fought 12-9 road victory over Tennessee State last Sunday, the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats return to the friendly confines of Municipal Stadium to take on the Virginia Union Panthers in today’s home opener.

Like Tenn State, Virginia Union will field a bevy of Floridians (19 are listed on VUU’s roster including 5 from Sanford Seminole) who would love nothing more than to shock the HBCU sports world by upsetting the top ranked team in black college football.  But unlike TSU, Virginia Union, who competes in Division II, does not stand much of a chance in pulling off the upset against Brian Jenkins’ club.

The Panthers finished 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the CIAA a season ago.  VUU was predicted to finish 8th in their conference heading into this season; they can offer just over half the number of scholarships as BCU (NCAA rules limit full football scholarships to 36 for D2 institutions; as compared to 63 for FCS programs); and today’s game is VUU’s season opener.  All signs suggest this should be a decisive BCU win.  But hey, its football and you still have to line-up and play the game.

In fact, Wildcat fans should well remember the last time a CIAA team visited Daytona Beach (in 2009) the Shaw Bears forced 7 BCU turnovers and may have helped seal the fate of then head coach Alvin Wyatt Sr. as the Bears defeated the Wildcats 20-6.  We expect no such recurrence today.  The Wildcats are simply too big, too strong, too fast and they should have no problems imposing their will on the out-manned Panthers.

Look for the BCU running game, led by senior Isidore Jackson, to have a huge day.  Jackson is now less than 400 yards away from becoming Bethune-Cookman’s all-time leading rusher.  Senior wide out Eddie Poole will look to continue his consecutive game pass-catching streak.  No word yet on who will start under center for BCU but expect to see multiple signal callers during the course of today’s action.

Defensively, linebacker Jarkevis Fields and defensive end LeBrandon Richardson paced the Cats with 10 tackles apiece last week.  Defensive tackle Tevin Toney proved to be a disruptive force in the interior adding 7 tackles of his own including 2 tackles-for-loss.  The Wildcat defense should have little trouble in establishing a new line of scrimmage and pressuring the VUU attack.

Hidden Yards Kudos

Perhaps an “under the radar” bright spot from last week’s contest were the BCU return units.  Freshman kick returner Darian Baker averaged 35.5 yards per kick return (long of 41) and Preston Cleckley averaged over 20 yards per punt return (long of 34) in last week’s matchup.  It was a small sampling but so far, so good in the all-important “hidden yards” department.  Another “hidden yards” category in which BCU thrived in week one was the penalty department.  The Wildcats limited themselves to just 5 penalties for 35 yards.  Let’s hope BCU continue to show improvement in these “hidden yards” categories in this game and throughout the course of the season.

DSC_0365Excited to see…..

We have been hearing great things about BCU’s new and improved cheerleading squad.   The cheer squad is now under the direction of Becky and John Woodson and will consist of 30 members and 4 alternates.  The Wildcat cheer squad recently collected a second place finish in ‘fight song cheer’, fourth place finish in ‘sideline cheer’, and were 4th overall in the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) camp in Philadelphia.  We are looking forward to seeing the results of the hard work and dedication of the revamped cheer squad.

We are also excited to see the new, more energized and better organized student-led cheer section known as the “Wildcat Crazies”.  Face-paint, body suits, and organized pandemonium, let’s see what you Crazy-Cats have in store for us this season.

What we learned in BCU’s 12-9 win over Tenn State

/ J Bell / 1 Comment
Credits: TSU Athletics

Credits: TSU Athletics

So we’re a day late on our weekly wrap-up; give us a little grace please. Our favorite HBCU played on Sunday evening and that threw the schedule off. With that being said, let’s get to it.

No Apologies Needed

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats used a strong defensive effort to grind out a 12-9 victory over Tennessee State in Sunday night’s season opener. While it would have been nice to score more than one offensive touchdown and to put a few more points on the scoreboard, the Wildcats need not apologize for defeating a quality opponent from an automatic qualifier league on their home field. Any win against a team the caliber of Tennessee State is a great win; the score not withstanding.

Brian Jenkins is now 4-1 in “revenge games” with the University of Miami being the only team the Wildcats have succumb to in consecutive tries in the Jenkins’ era.

The Passing Game Still Needs Work

You can make an argument that based on pure talent and athleticism; BCU has the deepest and most gifted receiving corp in the conference. However, if you make that argument please do not attempt to use statistics to support your claim. The Wildcats only gained 98 yards of offense through the air against TSU. Ironically it was QB Jackie Wilson’s 6 yard TD pass to Jordan Murphy that proved to be the game winner on Sunday.

Bethune-Cookman has now played 25 games since last passing for 300 or more yards as a team. Conversely, the Wildcat offense has thrown for less than 100 yards 5 times in that same span. The Beach Cats must develop a consistent passing attack as the season progresses if they hope to have any chance of reaching their ultimate goal. The ability is certainly there; now it’s time to translate that ability into on-the-field production.

Multiple QBs the New Normal

Seniors Brodrick Waters and Jackie Wilson alternated series at quarterback throughout the TSU contest with Waters receiving the starting nod. Both players showed flashes of their potential at times but it seemed the offense as a whole lacked a consistent rhythm or flow. The biggest part of that was the TSU defense no doubt. Let’s face it, that’s an athletic and talented bunch who returned all 11 starters from the OVC’s top defense in 2012. Couple that with the fact that this was just the first game of the season and midseason precision was highly unlikely. There was something left to be desired from a playcalling standpoint and we understand that 3 offensive linemen were making their first starts in a BCU uniform. But maybe, just maybe the three-way split of quarterbacks receiving even number snaps during practice and the revolving door on gameday had something to do with the lackluster offensive performance in week one.

With that being said, we fully suspect multiple QBs will be the norm for this team unless one guy clearly seperates himself from the pack. Oh by the way, Quentin Williams, who led the team in passing yards and passing touchdowns a year ago, did not see the field on Sunday but he will certainly factor into the quarterback discussion at some point during the season.

BIG D

The most impressive unit on the field was by far the BCU defense who delivered a more than solid performance on Sunday. Jarkevis Fields and LeBrandon Richardson each had 10 tackles and Tevin Toney was a disruptive force upfront. The Wildcats kept TSU out of the endzone and limited the Tigers to 3 field goals and just 248 yards of total offense. It was an all-around great performance by the defensive unit. ALL HAIL Defensive Cats!!!!

BCU’s Fields, Monroe Garner Weekly MEAC honors

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BCU LB - Jarkevis Fields

BCU LB – Jarkevis Fields

NORFOLK, Va., September 2, 2013 –  The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced on Monday that Jarkevis Fields and Alex Monroe were named Defensive Player of the Week and Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week respectively.

Fields (LB, 6-0, 230, Sr., Sanford, Fla.) recorded a game-high 10 tackles, six solo, in the Wildcats’ 12-9 victory over Tennessee State.  He added one sack for 10 yards and was named the John Merritt Classic’s Most Valuable Defensive Player.

Monroe (LT, 6-5, 305, Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.) anchored the Wildcats’ offensive line that accounted for 260 yards of total offense.  He graded out at 88-percent on his assignments and helped paved the way for the final game-winning drive in the Wildcats’ victory over Tennessee State.  Behind his protection, Bethune-Cookman rushed for 162 yards and tallied 98 yards through the air.

Morgan State’s Karim Barton joined Monroe as Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week.

South Carolina State’s Tyler McDonald was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week, Justin Taylor also of South Carolina State was named Rookie of the Week.  MSU’s Lawrence Forbes and SCSU’s Nick Belcher earned Co-Special Teams of the Week accolades.

 

Other Top Performers

Darian Baker (B-CU) recorded two kickoff returns for 71 yards, including a 41 yarder, in his first collegiate game.

Jordan Murphy (B-CU) caught three passes for 35 yards and one touchdown in the Wildcats’ 12-9 victory over Tennessee State.

 

Wildcats escape Nashville with 12-9 win

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Jordan Murphy hauled in a 6 yard TD pass from Jackie Wilson with 5:01 remaining in the 4th quarter giving Bethune-Cookman a 12-9 lead over Tennessee State and the game’s only touchdown. The Wildcats held on by the same scoreline and walked out of Sunday night’s John Merritt Classic with its 2nd victory over TSU in 8 tries.

Bethune dominated the opening quarter scoring on its first two possessions and limiting the TSU offense to no points and just 35 yards of offense in the process.

The only thing BCU did wrong in the opening frame was not score touchdowns.  Instead, the Cats were forced to settle on two made field goals by Werley Cagle (21, 30 ) for an early 6-0 lead.  Quarterback Brodrick Waters’ 33 yard strike to Preston Cleckley aided in setting up BCU’s initial score.

Tennessee State got its first points of the night in the 2nd quarter after Cagle botched the snap on a punt and was unable to get the kick away. TSU took over on the Wildcat 5 yard line but a stout BCU defense limited to damage to just 3 points.  A second Jamin Godfrey field goal tied the game at 6 apiece heading into the half.

The Blue Tigers took advantage of its first possession of the second half and marched 86 yards on 18 plays covering 10:22.  Godfrey’s 26 yard field goal gave TSU its first and only lead of the night.

But the Wildcats were not to be denied.  BCU sealed the victory when Wilson connected with Murphy on a 6 yard TD strike in the left endzone which capped a 12 play, 71 yard scoring drive.  Wilson went 4-4 for 40 yards on the game clinching drive.

Defensively, the Wildcats held Tennessee State without a touchdown and limited the Tigers to just 248 yards of offense.

BREAKING NEWS: HAILWILDCATS.COM 1st WATCH PARTY!

/ D Will / 1 Comment

ALL WILDCAT NATION!!!!!

In a last minute deal struck between Hailwildcats.com staff and Buffalo Wild Wings of Daytona, Hailwildcats.com will host the 1st Hailwildcats.com Watch Party tonight at 8 p.m. EST when the Mighty Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University take on the Tigers of Tennessee State University on ESPN 3. We will be streaming the game live on the “BIG SCREEN” of Buffalo Wild Wings at 2479 W. International Speedway Blvd  Daytona Beach, FL 32114.

If you are in the Daytona area, put on your Maroon and Gold and come out and share with the Wildcat Nation in this momentous and joyous occasion and see

“Who will ascend to the top of the mountain?”

We look forward to seeing you there! Kickoff AT 8 P.M.