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

September 4, 2013September 4, 2013 / J Bell / 1 Comment

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!!!!

(Baseball) Wildcats advance to MEAC Title Game

May 19, 2013July 27, 2013 / J Bell / Leave a comment

Skipper Jason Beverlin

MEAC regular season co-divisional champions @CookmanBaseball (35-23) and Savannah State (32-21) will square off on Sunday afternoon in the finals of the 2013 MEAC Baseball Championship.

The Cats and Tigers shared identical conference records (17-7) and split their six head-to-head matchups during the regular season.

SSU, who was awarded with the Southern Division’s top seed based on the conference’s fourth tiebreaker (head-to-head record against common divisional opponent), enters the finals from the winner’s bracket. The Tigers are 3-0 in the tournament and have scored an average of 12.6 runs per contest during the three game stretch.

In additional to scoring a plethora of runs, Savannah State will have the services of the MEAC’s top pitcher, Kyle McGowin (11-1) on Sunday. McGowin allowed just 1 earned run in a complete game effort against Maryland Eastern Shores in his last outing. McGowin’s lone defeat this season was suffered at the hands of Bethune-Cookman on May 5th in Savannah.

BCU, who dropped an opening round MEAC tournament contest for the first time since 2005, have won four consecutive tournament games eliminating Delaware State, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, and Coppin State in the process.

The Wildcat’s Ace, Montana Durapau, will likely toe the rubber for BCU in the championship game scheduled for 1:00. Durapau pitched 8 2/3rds in the Cats’ 5-1 victory over Delaware State on Thursday night.

The MEAC Baseball Championship is a double elimination tournament therefore the Wildcats will have to defeat SSU twice on Sunday if they hope to retain their crown. If the Wildcats can hold in the 1:00 contest, a second winner-take-all championship game will begin 35 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Bethune-Cookman is looking to secure its eighth consecutive MEAC crown.

You can follow the championship action on BCU’s official Twitter feeds at @BCUathletics or @Cookmanbaseball.

7th Heaven

May 20, 2012May 20, 2012 / J Bell / Leave a comment

Congratulations to Coach Jason Beverlin and the Fighting Wildcats baseball team for capturing their 7th consecutive MEAC men’s baseball title on Sunday afternoon by defeating Delaware State 8-3 at Marty Miller Field (Norfolk, VA).

BCU needed the second game of the championship round to secure its 13th title in 14 years. Earlier Sunday morning, Delaware State defeated the Cats 3-2 forcing a “winner take all” final. Sunday morning’s loss was BCU’s first tournament defeat since 2007.

But any notions of a hangover were quickly erased in the first inning of Game 2 against the Hornets when outfielder David Lee singled home Josh Johnson giving the Cats a 1-0 lead after the first frame. Despite having only 1 ball leave the infield in the 3rd, the Hornets capitalized on 2 bunts, a walk, a hit batsman, and a throwing error to take a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the third.

Nick Johnson lead off the bottom of the 3rd for the Cats and was hit by a pitch. Brandon Turner’s single to center field chased DSU’s starting pitcher, Jordan Elliot, and a double steal by Johnson and Turner set up runners in scoring position for BCU. David Lee’s 2 RBI single to right field scored Johnson and Turner and tied the game at 3-3.

Lee added another RBI single in the 4th this time scoring Carlos Delgado and putting BCU ahead 4-3. The Cats added 4 more runs in the 5th to pad their lead 8-3. Relief pitchers Bryan Rivera and Jordan Dailey held DSU both hitless and scoreless through the final 6 and 2/3rds securing the win for the good guys.

David Lee finish the contest with 4 RBIs and was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player honors. BCU will find out their NCAA Regionals destination on Monday, May 23rd when the pairings are announced.