Dover, Del. (Nov. 15, 2014) --- Damien Fleming completed 23-of-30 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns to lead Florida A&M to a 41-7 victory over Delaware State in a MEAC contest at Alumni Stadium today.
The Hornets dropped their fourth straight contest to fall to 2-9 overall and 2-5 in the MEAC. The Rattlers snapped a three-game skid to improve to 3-8 and 3-4.
Fleming threw touchdown passes to four different receivers and completed passes to 12 different players. He also scored himself on a one-yard run on the opening possession of the game. His touchdown run capped off a six-play, 67-yard drive that was highlighted by a 52-yard pass to Brandon Norwood to the DSU 15 on the first play from scrimmage. Chase Varnadore's extra point kick gave the Rattlers a 7-0 lead just three-minutes-21 into the contest.
After the Hornets went three-and-out on their opening possession, Florida A&M needed just four plays to stretch its lead.
Fleming connected with Montavius Williams on a 40-yard touchdown pass to cap off FAMU's second scoring drive in two possessions. The extra point put the Rattlers ahead 14-0 with
"We just couldn't recover after giving up the two big plays and the early touchdowns," said Delaware State head coach Kermit Blount. "We were able to move the ball at times, but couldn't sustain any drives until we were too far behind."
Fleming threw two more scoring passes in the second quarter and Varnadore nailed a 23-yard field goal as the clock expired in the first half to give the Rattlers 31-0 lead at the break.
Delaware State finally cracked the scoring column with a late third quarter touchdown.
Quarterback Marlon Kelly capped off the six-play, 65-yard scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown run. The big play in the drive was a 48-yard pass from Kelly to Malik Golson to the Florida A&M 17.
Florida A&M added 10 fourth quarter points to complete the scoring.
Kelly completed 13-of-28 passes for a career-high 204 yards. Golson also had a career day, hauling in four passes for a personal best 121 yards.
Jamaal Jackson was the Hornets leading runner for the fourth straight game, rushing for 85 yards on 17 carries, including a long of 25 yards.
Milton Williams III had two catches for 27 yards to move into 10th place on the Hornets' career list with 1593 receiving yards. He also tied for seventh in school history with 122 catches during the contest.
Linebacker Elbie Williams, one of 10 DSU seniors playing their final home game, led the Hornets with a season high 10 tackles.
"It's disappointing that we could not send our seniors out on a better note in their last home game," said Blount. "We focused on honoring our seniors during a great week of practice, but things didn't work out the way we wanted. There's still one game to play, and I'm we're looking forward to putting forth a better effort."
The Hornets will wrap up the 2014 season at Morgan State next Sat. (Nov. 22). Game time is 1 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.
