Dover, Del (Oct. 31, 2015) --- Bethune-Cookman rushed for 353 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-21 victory over Delaware State in a MEAC contest at Alumni Stadium this afternoon. Second-string quarterback Larry Brihm, Jr. ran for 141 yards and two scores to lead the Wildcats' 489-yard offensive attack.
Freshman running back Brycen Alleyne scored his first two collegiate touchdowns, while leading the Hornets in rushing and receiving yards in the contest.
Bethune-Cookman won for the seventh time in eight games to improve to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the MEAC. DSU fell to 0-8 and 0-5.
Delaware State took advantage of a special teams play to score first in the contest.
Bethune-Cookman drove 69 yards on its first possession, but the drive stalled at the Hornet 11. Wildcat placekicker Uriel Hernandez's 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked by DSU's Gabe Sherrod. Logan Wescott scooped up the ball and ran 82 yards down the sideline to the endzone to give the Hornets a lead for the first time this season. Wisdom Nzidee's extra point kick put DSU ahead 7-0 with 7:40 left in the first quarter.
BCU wasted little time to match the Delaware State score. The Wildcats drove 68 yards in five plays on the ensuing possession to even the game. Quentin Williams connected with Frank Brown on a seven-yard touchdown pass to cap off the two-minute-11 second drive. The extra point kick by Hernandez tied the game at 7-7 with 5:21 remaining in the opening quarter.
Bethune-Cookman added touchdowns on each of its next four possessions to take control of the game.
Running backs Michael Jones and Anthony Jordan scored touchdowns on short runs in the second quarter and Brihm scored from a yard out with less than a minute to go in the quarter to give the Wildcats a 28-7 lead at the break.
BCU stretched its lead to 35-7 on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Ja-Quan Lumas on the opening possession of the third quarter.
Delaware State showed some fight by scoring 14 unanswered points to raise its hopes.
Alleyne capped off a 12-play, 78-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run for the first touchdown of his career. Hornet quarterback Gil Rivera completed first down passes to Morris Frasier (13 yards) and Malik Golson (16 yds.), while Dae-Hon Cheung rushed for 23 yards during the five-minute-four-second drive. Nzidee's extra point kick was blocked, leaving DSU in a 35-13 hole with 7:54 left in the third quarter.
The Hornets took advantage of another special teams miscue by the Wildcats to get closer early in the fourth quarter.
Delaware State received the ball at the BCU 24-yard line after Wildcat punter Jonathan Cagle came up short while attempting to run on fourth down and one.
Four plays later, Rivera found Alleyne open in the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown. It was Alleyne's first collegiate touchdown catch. The Hornets successfully converted a two-point play following the touchdown when Rivera handed the ball to Golson, who completed a pass to Rivera in the endzone to cut the Wildcats' lead to 35-21 with 14:48 left to play.
The Delaware State defense forced BCU to punt after three plays and recovered a fumble on the next two Wildcat possessions, but the Hornets could not take advantage.
Bethune-Cookman tacked on two fourth quarter touchdowns, one with 17 seconds left to play, to close out the scoring.
Delaware State totaled 200 yards in the contest, 104 rushing and 96 passing.
Alleyne had a team-high 65 yards rushing on 19 carries, and led the Hornets with two catches for 52 yards.
Rivera completed seven-of-17 passes for 96 yards.
DSU cornerback J.R. Robinson had a career-high 13 tackles, including 2.5 behind the line-of-scrimmage. Linebackers Malik Harris and Rashawn Barrett had 12 and 10 tackles, respectively, for the Hornets.
The Hornets begin a two-game road swing with a visit to North Carolina Central next Saturday (Nov. 7). Game time is 2 p.m. in Durham, N.C.
Delaware State will visit North Carolina A&T the following week (Nov. 14) before returning home to face Howard in the season finale on Nov. 21 at Alumni Stadium (2 p.m.).
POSTGAME COMMENTS (Kenny Carter, Gil Rivera, Logan Wescott and Brycen Alleyne):
Media: Coach, give us some opening statements about today's game.
Carter: Well, I am proud of our kids for coming back and fighting, especially in the second half and really not worrying about the score at half time. We challenged them with that and they responded. So we can't continue to give up opportunities when we get in the red zone. Got down there several times, defense turned the ball over and we did some good things with the blocked punt. But, we have to capitalize just like we talk about all the time. We have to score in the red zone, we have to score touchdowns in the red zone.
Media: Is the kicking game not where you want it to be? You've had a blocked field goal, a blocked extra point. What do you think the problem is?
Carter: A freshman at tight end is really what it comes down to. They had the same breakdown that we did, and when you have a young team and you have young players, unfortunately that's the byproduct of something. So we just have to keep working ahead and try to get it fixed up.
Media: They were doing a nice job of running the football in the first half, the second half you guys got the stops that you needed to. Were you disappointed that you couldn't take advantage of those opportunities?
Carter: No doubt. We were in the position to make several plays. We missed tackles. They did a good job of breaking tackles. We knew that No. 2 was going to be a guy that we were going to have to contend with, just like everybody else in the league does. He can run, he is athletic, he is a tough guy in space and we didn't meet that challenge enough.
Media: You've been doing a lot of nice things with Bryson. I mean as a freshman, he is not the tallest guy on the field, but he makes a lot of plays. What would you say about him today? This maybe a breakout for him.
Carter: Bryson is a joy. Bryson will be the face of this program. He has a lot of life, he's got a very high football IQ and he is very athletic. As he continues to develop and get better overtime, he will be a player in this league that everybody will have to worry about. We are very, very excited about him. He really rejuvenates us on offense and gives us a chance, as you see. And Dae-Hon Chung- I can't go without giving him his due. He has done a really nice job as a senior who was injured. He has stepped up and really made a difference for us today.
Media: Another thing on Bryson. When people look at him and look at his size, they probably want to dismiss him. What made you want to recruit him and bring him into this program?
Carter: When I talked to him and brought him in when I first got here, you saw his heart. And then a lot of the high school coaches in the state felt like he was probably one of the top two players in the state. The only thing that really was his knock was his size, and quite frankly, I didn't worry about that. And then when you watch the kid do a back flip and catch a ball in the air, he is going to be pretty good. I think that Darren Sproles has proven that little guys can get it done.
Media: What can you say about Gil today? There were some protection issues, but he kind of panicked a little bit.
Carter: You know what? I think, what Gil does when he has breakdowns with protection and gives up sacks, a lot of times he is trying to be very courageous. He is trying to be creative and instead of getting rid of the ball, throwing it or checking it down. He wants to throw it down the field a little bit too much. So some of that was on him. Our left guard gave up a sack on a bull rush, but other than that, I give the kid credit because he is really trying to create. It takes a lot of courage to do that at that position.
Media: Your receivers were banged up today. Did you really have as much as you wanted out there? How did that affect the game?
Carter: I would say that I can remember right now, we had two drops that were significant and one was a freshman and one was a senior. (Taronn) Selby dropped the one that would have been a sure first down, he is too worried about scoring, which he probably would because he had nobody behind him but green grass. And then the other one, Morris (Frasier) dropped- which probably would have scored. The kid got it out of his hands and you have to have strong hands - you are a senior you have to make that catch.
Media: Can you guys just start off with some opening statements?
Rivera: I feel like we had a tough game. I felt like we had opportunities to get back in there. I think for the most part we did a good job, but we just got stalled with a few mistakes. But, I feel like we just kept fighting as a team, so I think we're showing our progress you know with Coach Carter coming in to progress the program.
Wescott: I just feel that we were prepared for this game even though we came out flat in the first half and the second half we turned things around but it was too late.
Alleyne: I think that we kind of prepared good this week for this game so I think we came into this game well prepared it was just a couple mistakes here and there and our execution and just finishing so I mean that's every game but we prepared well for this game and I think it was just at the end of the day just execution.
Media: Gil, offensively, what do you think you guys struggled with today? There were times when you moved the ball but you had some red zone issues. What do you think are some of the causes?
Rivera: I think that just comes with execution. Obviously, we had good looks and we got some turnovers with a short field. There's no excuse as to why we can't put it in the box, so that's just something we have to keep working on we have to keep moving forward.
Media: Brycen's been kind of coming on the last couple of weeks. Today was a big breakout game for him. What kind of weapon does he give you?
Rivera: Well, I mean, having him in the backfield, defenders need to watch him running routes and he still attacks him on the ground. So, I mean, having somebody like that in the backfield, being versatile that's really big for us.
Media: Logan, I think your touchdown was the first time you guys led all season. I know it was the first time you guys scored first all season. What did you see on that play? How did you feel?
Wescott: I just wrapped around the end and I saw Gabriel (Sherrod) block the kick and it bounced right into my hands and I took it and I saw blockers behind me I really didn't have any words after that.\
Media: Brycen were you prepared for such a workload today. What went into your big day?
Alleyne: I think I was prepared for this because last week I had 20 carries. That was my first week transitioning back from running back and they just kind of threw me in there and gave me the ball and let me do me this game. I was a little bit more prepared. I got more comfortable with everything on offense and being the running back again, so I think I kind of just let my instincts take over and just play my game and do everything that I was told and that what I was coached. I think that's kind of what prepared me for the game.
Media: You guys have shown flashes of some really strong plays, but what's the mode like in the locker room? Frustrated that you guys still haven't gotten the first win?
Alleyne: I think everybody still feels the same. We see the explosive plays, but everybody still knows that we have those moments where it's like nothing is happening or maybe like we just shut down for just a little bit maybe the other team did something good and maybe we kind let down a little bit. I think everybody knows our potential and everybody knows that we make explosive plays. Every team is going to have ups and downs and everything, so I think it's kind of equal on both sides.
Media: West, just talk about your defensive efforts today you guys gave up a lot of yards on the ground.
Wescott: I think that was just lack of execution on the defensive side and effort in some plays and just not being in the right spot and then holes get open and that's when that creates a lot of rushing yards.
Media: What was the message from defensive coordinator Jamie Bryant after the game as you guys head to North Carolina Central next week?
Wescott: We have to have a great week of practice and just prepare like we're going to win and we have to stop the run every week. That's the first step to winning on the defensive side of the ball.
Media: For you Brycen, you're now getting in the groove to becoming one of the best weapons on this team. What is it going to take to keep that going next week?
Alleyne: I think just focusing a little bit more and not getting the jitters, just kind of blocking everything out and just focusing on what I'm supposed to do that play and focusing on my job and what I was coached. Really just trust your technique at the end of the day. Just making sure that I make my assignment, just stay patient and make my plays I think that's my goal going into next week.
