KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Darnell Deas registered two (2) kickoff return touchdowns Saturday evening as Bethune-Cookman fell to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent Western Michigan, 59-31 in front of a season-opening crowd of 23,476 at Waldo Stadium.
 
Trailing 28-7 late in the second quarter, Darnell Deas, a redshirt senior from Pompano Beach, Florida, took back the fifth kickoff return for touchdown of his career, and his first of the 2024 season – this one going 95 yards to cut the Bethune-Cookman deficit at 35-14 heading into the half.
 
Bethune-Cookman (0-3) received the opening kickoff to begin the third quarter, while the speedy Deas gathered the ball at the two yard line, and raced 98 yards to the end zone for his second kickoff return touchdown of the game. It was his sixth career kickoff return for a touchdown, and his second 98-yard return for score of his career. That brought the Wildcats to within 35-21.
 
In the process, Deas became the first Wildcat to score multiple kickoff returns for a score in a game since Jimmy Robinson III versus Howard in the Circle City Classic (Indianapolis, Ind.) back on Sept. 22, 2018.
 
Western Michigan (1-2) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Broncos signal-caller Hayden Wolff found receiver Anthony Sambucci wide open for a 54-yard score on the first play from scrimmage. The Luka Zurak extra point put the hosts ahead, 7-0 less than 20 seconds into the contest.
 
For Sambucci, he would end the night with four receptions for 103 yards.
 
The Broncos found the end zone twice more on either side of the first quarter to make it a 21-0 advantage.
 
Wolff accounted for his second touchdown strike through the air with a 23-yard connection to Christopher Toudle with 2:52 remaining in the opening stanza. Running back Jaden Nixon added an eight-yard score on the ground less than two minutes into the second quarter.
 
With B-CU down 28-0, redshirt junior quarterback Cam'Ron Ransom – going the distance under center in the game for the Wildcats, picked up his first collegiate touchdown as he called his own number for a three-yard rush around the left side for the score. Cade Hechter's PAT was through to cut the deficit, 28-7.
 
The score became 35-7 when Wolff's 38-yard connection to Bugs Mortimer propelled him into the end zone with 59 seconds left in the opening half.
 
The Broncos would add a pair of scores in the third quarter off the end of a Nixon 37-yard run, as well as a one-yard plunge up the middle from Zahir Abdus-Salaam, extending the lead, 49-21.
 
Hechter, a sophomore kicker from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connected on his second field goal of the year to chip into the Broncos lead, 49-24 – this time from 41 yards out. On the year, Hechter is now 2-for-2 on field goals from 40 yards or longer.
 
Ransom would add another score for the Wildcats with his legs at 5:31 remaining in the contest, as he engineered an 11-play drive that spanned 75 yards, culminating with the Lakeland, Florida, native rushing in for a two-yard touchdown.
 
The final score would be produced with the Broncos' Jamal Hailey dashing 48 yards to the end zone with 2:39 showing on the clock, added the Zurak PAT, to make it 59-31 in the end.
 
WMU was led on the night by Nixon with 189 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Abdus-Salaam added 104 yards on the ground and two scores of his own. Wolff finished 15 for 19 passing with 305 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Defensively, the Broncos received seven tackles each from Domanick Moon and Rodney McGraw.
 
As for Bethune-Cookman, the Cats used a 10 for 14 night passing by Ransom, as he accumulated 166 yards through the air. He added 44 yards on the ground and two touchdowns – the first two offensive touchdowns of the year for the Maroon and Gold. Marcus Velez hauled in four passes for 20 yards. Courtney Reese had 10 carries for 34 yards as well.
 
The B-CU defense was headlined by Shelton Quarles Jr., as he managed a game-high 11 tackles (nine assisted) and a tackle-for-loss. Jeremy Greaves Jr. recorded a quarterback sack. And it was Andrew Volmar picking off a Wolff pass in the first half for his first interception of the season.
 
Bethune-Cookman returns to Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida, to host its final nonconference opponent of the regular season in the form of Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Division II opponent Clark Atlanta on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 3 p.m.
 
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