2016 DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL — GAME 6
DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY “HORNETS” (0–5; 0-2 MEAC) VS.
FLORIDA A&M “RATTLERS” (1-5; 1-2 MEAC)
SAT., OCT. 15, 2016 (2 p.m.)
ALUMNI STADIUM (7,000) - DOVER, DEL.
“HOMECOMING”
THE GAME
Delaware State (0-4; 0-2 MEAC) welcomes Florida A&M to Alumni Stadium for the Hornets' annual homecoming contest. DSU is coming off a 27-17 home loss to Hampton last weekend. The score was 14-14 before Hampton scored 13 unanswered points to take control of the game. Hornet quarterback Daniel Epperson (jr.) had his best game of the season, completing 18-of-30 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown. Wide receivers Mason Rutherford (jr.) and Fatu Sua-Godinet (fr.) also enjoyed their best days with the Hornets in the Hampton contest. Rutherford had five catches for a team-high 89 yards, while Sua-Godinet also caught five passes for 84 yards and his first career touchdown. Defensively, cornerback Keyjuan Selby (so.) led all players with a career-high 10 tackles, including nine solo stops, last week. For the season, Epperson has connected on 48-of-96 passes (50.0%) for 519 yards. He has thrown five touchdowns and six interceptions. The Hornets have used Brycen Alleyne (so.) and Mike Waters (fr.) as their primary runners this season. Alleyne is the team leader with 231 yards rushing and one touchdown on 60 attempts (3.8 ypc), while Waters has rushed for 202 yards and two TDs on 48 carries (4.2 ypc). Alleyne is also sixth in the MEAC in all-purpose yards at 110.8 per game. Rutherford is tops among the DSU receivers with 16 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown. Alleyne has 13 receptions, while Sua-Godinet and Aris Scott (sr.) have 10 each. On the defense, linebacker Malik Harris (jr.) is the Hornets' leader with 34 tackles (19 unassisted). Strong safety Logan Wescott (so.) is second on the team with 32 tackles, including 22 solo stops. Outside linebacker Rashawn Barrett (sr.) has 30 tackles (14 unassisted) and is tops on the team with five tackles-for-loss.
Florida A&M (1-5; 1-2) is trying to bounce back from a 17-13 loss to MEAC leader North Carolina Central in a rain storm last Saturday. The Rattlers led 5-0 at the half and 13-10 in the fourth quarter before NC Central scored the game-winning touchdown with 4:54 left to play. Florida A&M's defense ranks among the best in the MEAC. The Rattlers are No. 1 in the league in pass defense, allowing just 150.0 yards per game, and third in total defense at 367.0 yards per contest. FAMU defensive end Elijah Price is tops in the MEAC with 11.5 tackles for loss, while defensive back Jacques Curtis is sixth in the league with 39 total tackles. Offensively, the Rattlers are averaging 261.7 yards per game, 170.8 by the pass and 90.8 on the ground. Senior quarterback Kenneth Coleman has completed 63-of-105 passes (60.0%) for 602 yards. He has thrown three touchdowns and four interceptions. Wide receiver Brandon Norwood is second in the MEAC at 5.3 receptions per game (32 total). Hans Supre and Devin Bowers rank 1-2 on the Rattlers in rushing. Supre has a team-high 176 rushing yards and one touchdown on 53 carries (3.3 ypc), while Bowers is second on the team with 172 yards on 36 attempts (4.8 ypc). He's also tied with Tevin Spells for the team lead with two rushing touchdowns.
THE SERIES
This is the 34th meeting between the teams since the series began in 1977. Florida A&M has won the last three contests and six of the last seven to open up a 24-9 series lead. Last season, the Rattlers posted a 41-13 victory over the Hornets in Tallahassee, Fla. DSU was plagued by five turnovers and wide receiver Aris Scott had a career-high 12 catches in the 2015 meeting. The last time the teams met at Alumni Stadium, Florida A&M came out on top 41-7 in 2014. Delaware State's last win in the series was in 2013 (29-21 in Tallahassee, Fla).
HOMECOMING SUCCESS
Delaware State has enjoyed a fair amount of success on its homecoming in recent years. Since 1969, the Hornets are 33-14 on homecoming Saturday. DSU had a 10-game homecoming win streak from 1982 to '91; and a six-game streak from 1975 to '80. The Hornets have dropped their last two homecoming games, including a 34-7 setback to South Carolina State last season.
