Oct. 14, 2006
Daytona Beach, Fla. -
Defense was the name of the game on Saturday afternoon as Bethune-Cookman College narrowly defeated Winston-Salem State University by a count of 10-6 on Homecoming in Daytona Beach, Florida at Municipal Stadium.
The most vaunted defense in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) coming into the year looked every bit the part on Saturday, but the offense looked anything but stellar. Some of that, however, may have to go as credit to the newest member of the MEAC in the form of Winston-Salem State University.
WSSU (2-5) jumped on the board first as they took the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards down the field on nine plays using a variety of plays that included the option, passing and trick plays. The Rams surged ahead as kicker Chad Oakley, seeing his first kicking duties of the season for WSSU, nailed a 27-yard field goal to put the visitors on top 3-0.
Bethune-Cookman (4-3) then showed why the option is so dangerous in the "Wyattbone", and why they manage the clock better than most teams in the league. On the strength of a 17-play, 80-yard drive that lasted just over seven minutes, the Wildcats' Coyla Dailey (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) pushed the ball across the goal line for the game's only touchdown. Dailey scampered in from three yards out on the option-pitch from Jimmie Russell (Jonesboro, Ga.).
Defense became the game for the next few minutes as B-CC was held to three consecutive three-and-out scenarios before the Rams of WSSU jumped back on the board again.
Quarterback Monte Purvis engineered a six play drive that went 34 yards en route to another Oakley field goal--this time from 29 yards out, just midway through the second quarter. The drive was set up when WSSU's Darian Bynum forced a fumble on B-CC quarterback Jimmie Russell at the B-CC 46 yard line. The fumble, one of the `Cats three turnovers on the day, was recovered by the Rams' Michael Merritt.
With the Wildcats on top 7-6 at the half, there would be even more defense applied to the game as neither team found it easy to move the ball, especially past the 50 yard line.
The game's final scoring would occur in the fourth quarter as Wildcat kicker Jesus Cortez (Ft. Meade, Fla.) put a 34-yard kick through the uprights for the 10-6 advantage.
The Rams had one last chance to try and get the win late in the game as they crossed to the 50 yard line, but Purvis' desperation pass late in the game was intercepted by Michael Williams (Miami, Fla.) as time expired.
The defense of the Wildcats was relentless all day long, limiting the Rams to just 83 yards of total offense and seven (7) first downs, two coming by way of penalties. The `Cats also stepped up the pass pressure with six sacks on Purvis. Doing most of the damage for the Wildcats was junior linebacker Ronnie McCullough (Tampa, Fla.) with a team and season-high 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. Behind him was Bobbie Williams (Miami, Fla.) with nine tackles, while teammate Taurean Charles (Miami, Fla.) picked up a team-high three tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.
Meanwhile, the offense was headed up the duo of Eric Weems (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Russell. Weems caught a game-high six passes for 65 yards, while Russell collected a game-high 64 yards rushing and 79 yards through the air on 11-of-19 passing.
The Rams were led by their kicker in Chad Oakley with a whopping 444 yards punting on nine attempts for an average of 49.3 yards per kick. His two field goals were also the only points for the Rams on the day. The Rams defense was anchored by Juan Corders with a game-high 12 tackles (three tackles for loss) and Thadeus Griffin with 11 tackles and one pass breakup.
The Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman will now get what they have been waiting on for a long time, a much-needed week off before hosting North Carolina A&T on Thursday night (Oct. 26) in a game televised live on ESPNU at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach.
