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Official Home of the Fort Valley State University Wildcats....Stay the Course!

Scoreboard

18 fb jarman fvsu
Courtesy of the Tallahassee Democrat
7
Fort Valley State FVSU 0-0
41
Winner Florida A&M FAMU 0-0
Fort Valley State FVSU
0-0
7
Final
41
Florida A&M FAMU
0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
FVSU Fort Valley State 0 7 0 0 7
FAMU Florida A&M 7 13 13 8 41

Game Recap: Football | | Chris Myers

Wildcats Strike After Delay, Rattlers Regroup for Opening Jake Gaither Classic Gridiron Victory

TALLAHASSE, Fla. – After the second-quarter lightning delay, all-purpose back Lorenzo Smothers and the Wildcats struck pay dirt. Florida A&M rebounded right away and produced a strong second half on its way to a 41-7 win over Fort Valley State in the 2018 Jake Gaither Classic football game Saturday evening.
 
With early game Wildcats (0-1) mistakes, the Football Championship Series Rattlers (1-0) took advantage to a tune of a 13-0 lead with 5:05 showing in the second quarter. Following close to a 40-minute lightning strike delay, Fort Valley State wasted no time in getting the ball to Smothers, who took a short pass in the left flat from Slade Jarman and scampered 92 yards down the left sideline and then up the middle of the field for the touchdown to make it a 13-7 score with 4:40 remaining in the opening half.
 
Florida A&M answered with a 70-yard scoring drive on five plays to regain the game's momentum it would not lose again.
 
"Our kids played hard. When you play up a level, you can't afford to make the mistakes we made tonight. We will get a lot of good film from this game and see how we can be better (for next week)," said FVSU head coach Kevin Porter.

 
18 fb smothers at famu
Lorenzo Smothers posted 306 all-purpose yards
Smothers was arguably the best player on the field for the better part of the opening three quarters. The sophomore slot back and kick returner totaled 306 all-purpose yards on only 15 touches of the football. He pulled in 207 yards on six receptions and covered 102 more yards on six kick returns as part of his final line. Smothers had an early first-quarter grab where he outran the coverage for 68 yards, before his 92-yard scoring reception after the second-quarter lightning delay.
 
"Lorenzo Smothers, obviously, is a very talented player and a key to our offense, who we try to create opportunities to get him as many touches as we can between running, receiving and returns," noted Porter.
 
Quarterback Slade Jarman had a solid opening senior year outing by completing 17 of 27 passes for 303 yards and the one touchdown.
 
Jamari Clark and the Wildcat running game found it to be tough sledding as he rushed for 35 yards and pulled in five passes out of the backfield for 49 yards.
 
Despite giving up 407 yards of total offense, the FVSU defense played tough. The Wildcat defenders allowed 182 yards in the first half on 30 plays and 268 yards on 50 snaps through three frames before the Rattlers controlled the final quarter.
 
Safety Camron Young paced the visitors' stoppers with seven tackles and a pass breakup. Defensive lineman Juwan Gardner stopped five runners and sacked the Rattlers quarterback one time. Jahseari Patterson posted the other FVSU sack, while Zach Anderson chipped in five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
 
"In the redzone, we forced them to kick six times, but we have things to clean up," added the FVSU head coach. "I am happy with the effort and will come back strong next week."
 
After the game's opening possession stalled, the Wildcats put their backs against the wall early when the punt snap was muffed and the Rattlers recovered deep in FVSU territory. Florida A&M converted the opportunity for the game's first points with a touchdown four plays later to make it 7-0 only 4:10 in the contest.
 
Fort Valley State committed a second muffed punt snap later in the game, saw a field goal attempt blocked to open the second quarter, and suffered with a final 22.7-yard per punt average in three punts.
 
"We made some kicking game mistakes and we need to correct them immediately. You can't make those types of mistakes against a team like Florida A&M," Porter said.
 
For the home team, Bishop Bonnett accounted for 79 yards on eight carries as the top FAMU back. Quarterback Ryan Stanley competed 11 of his 20 passes for 115 yards, including a pair of scores.
 
Rattlers kicker Yahia Aly booted a school-record six field goals with a long of 43 yards.
 
Fort Valley State continues its four-game opening road swing in the Okefenokee Classic against Valdosta State in Waycross, Ga., next Saturday night (Sept. 8). Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
 
-Wildcats-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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