2016 DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL — GAME 8
DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY “HORNETS” (0–7; 0-4 MEAC) VS.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN “WILDCATS” (1-5; 1-3 MEAC)
SAT., OCT. 29, 2016 (4:00 p.m.)
LARRY KELLY MUNICIPAL STADIUM (10,000) - DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
THE GAME
Delaware State (0-7; 0-4 MEAC) wraps up a two-game road swing with a visit to
Bethune-Cookman in a MEAC contest. The Hornets are coming off a 30-3 road loss to South Carolina State last week. DSU totaled just 151 yards in the contest. The Hornets trailed 27-0 before scoring their only points on a field goal by Wisdom Nzidee just before halftime. The loss overshadowed a career performance by DSU freshman linebacker Brian Cavicante, who led all players with 13 tackles, including seven solo stops. Fellow linebacker Malik Harris had 12 tackles, four behind the line-of-scrimmage. For the season, the Hornets are averaging 252.1 yards per game, 132.4 by the pass and 119.7 on the ground. Daniel Epperson has started the last five games at quarterback for the Hornets. He has completed 73-of-140 passes (52.1%) for 785 yards with five touchdowns and nine interceptions. DSU has two of the MEAC's top six rushers. Brycen Alleyne (so.) is fifth in the league with 452 rushing yards (64.6 pg) and three touchdowns, while Mike Waters (fr.) is sixth with 381 yards and two TDs Defensively, DSU is allowing 470.4 yards per contest. Opponents are rushing for 238.7 yards per game and passing for 231.7 yards against the Hornet defense. Harris is tops on the team with 54 tackles (31 solo), including 6.5 behind the line-of-scrimmage and a
team-high two sacks.
Bethune-Cookman (1-5; 1-3 MEAC) notched its first win of the season, 21-14, at
Norfolk State last week. The Wildcat defense led the way, holding the Spartans to 222 yards of total offense, highlighted by five quarterback sacks. Bethune-Cookman scored two second-quarter touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead and held on in the second half. For the season, BCU is averaging 301.5 yards per game to rank sixth in the MEAC. The Cats average 133.8 yards per game rushing (fifth in MEAC) and 167.7 yards by the pass (sixth in MEAC) this season. Defensively, BCU is allowing 396.2 yards per game to rank seventh in the league. Wildcat quarterback Larry Brihm has completed 50-of-97 throws (51.5%) for 696 yards this season. He has thrown seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Brihm ranks third in MEAC in pass efficiency (129.4 rating) and is
seventh in the league at 139.2 passing yards per game. Jawil Davis leads the team with 19 receptions for 314 yards, while Frank Brown has 17 catches for 319 yards and is tied for the MEAC lead with five touchdown grabs. Safety Diquan Richardson tops the Wildcats with 46 tackles (seventh in MEAC), while linebacker Trenton Bridges has a team-high 5.5 tackles for loss.
THE SERIES
This will be the 39th contest between the teams. Bethune-Cookman has won the last five meetings to tie the series at 19-19. The Wildcats won last year's contest 49-21 at Delaware State's Alumni Stadium. BCU racked up 489 yards of total offense, including 353 rushing, in the contest. The last time the teams met at Bethune-Cookman, the Cats posted a 27-7 victory in 2014. Bethune-Cookman took advantage of three special teams shortcomings by the Hornets to open up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Hornets won six straight in the series from 1992-to-'97; and four in a row from 2005-to-'08. DSU's last win over Bethune-Cookman was in 2008 (26-20) in Daytona Beach, Fla
