For just the second time this season, Florida A&M football has won consecutive games.
On Saturday, Nov. 15, the Rattlers traveled to the Alabama A&M Bulldogs and left victorious with a 26-23 win in the Week 12 Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup at Louis Crews Stadium.
It was the Rattlers’ (5-5, 4-2 in SWAC) second consecutive win, moving them to .500 on the season by handing the Bulldogs (4-7, 1-6 in SWAC) their fourth straight loss.
FAMU has won four of its last five games.
FAMU quarterback RJ Johnson III willed the Rattlers to victory in Huntsville before 14,677 HBCU football fans. The redshirt sophomore completed 20 passes on 24 attempts for 299 yards and scored four total touchdowns, three passing, one rushing.
Despite the triumph, FAMU was outgained by Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs had 460 yards compared to the Rattlers’ 392.
It was a back-and-forth game that saw seven lead changes between FAMU and Alabama A&M.
FAMU held Alabama A&M from scoring on its final drive. FAMU defensive linemen James Gardner Jr. and Nick Dimitris combined for a sack on Alabama A&M quarterback Eric Handley on the game’s final play as time expired.
“Sloppy win. But excited to get it,” FAMU head coach James Colzie III told Tallahassee media in a postgame Zoom call.
“We made some plays down the stretch to win the football game. But we could’ve won by maybe more than what we won by this evening.”
FAMU football QB RJ Johnson III and WR Kenari Wilcher shine for offense
FAMU did something against Alabama A&M that it hadn’t done all season.
Score a touchdown in the first quarter.
In its second drive of the day, Johnson hit wide receiver Kenari Wilcher for a 27-yard touchdown to take a 6-0 lead. Johnson and Wilcher connected again for a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
“[Johnson] made a big-time throw to Wilcher early in the game,” Colzie said.
Wilcher finished with four receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He was named SWAC TV’s Gatorade Player of the Game.
Johnson added another passing touchdown to Jalen ‘Speedy’ Rogers for 27 yards and added a seven-yard rushing touchdown.
Nine different FAMU receivers had a catch.
“We have so many talented receivers that you’re going to have receivers open,” the FAMU coach said. “As we get through the season and continue to go through the season, RJ is finding those guys. We have skilled guys to spread defenses out and have the ability to score points. Sometimes, he’s just got to make the throws and allow our guys to make plays.”
FAMU’s drawbacks versus Alabama A&M were its third-down conversions and rushing yards.
The Rattlers went two for nine on third downs.
On the ground, FAMU rushed 28 times for 93 yards. Running back Thad Franklin Jr. led with 16 carries for 65 yards.
FAMU football’s defense can’t upend Alabama A&M’s offense
Alabama A&M entered Saturday as one of the SWAC’s worst statistical offenses.
But the Rattlers’ defense still couldn’t stop anything the Bulldogs were doing.
Alabama A&M, which has played up to four different quarterbacks this season, had no problem passing the football on FAMU.
Alabama A&M quarterback Handley went 20-for-33 for 227 yards and passed for a touchdown. His top target was Daveon Walker, who had four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.
FAMU hasn’t been able to stop the run all season.
That was evident again as the Bulldogs picked up 233 yards on the ground on 33 attempts.
“They had success running the football,” Colzie said of Alabama A&M. “You want to be a good defense, you’ve got to stop the run. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that.”
Alabama A&M running back Ryan Morrow became the team’s first single-game 100-yard rusher on the season. He had 18 carries for 136 yards and an 80-yard touchdown run.
“Then you get an 80-yard touchdown run on you, and then linebackers and D-Lineman aren’t necessarily trusting each other like they’re supposed to,” said Colzie, who calls the Rattlers’ defensive plays.
“It boils down to us being able to do what we need to do.”
FAMU did nab an interception, though. Cornerback Ah’Mare Lee picked off Handley in the game’s opening drive.
FAMU football gets another close win this season vs Alabama A&M
Another week, another nailbiting win for the Rattlers.
All five of FAMU’s victories have come by one possession.
FAMU trailed 16-12 midway through the third quarter.
FAMU briefly took a 19-16 lead after Johnson’s second touchdown pass to Wilcher in the third quarter. Then, the Rattlers relinquished the lead again on Handley’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Walker.
FAMU quarterback Johnson’s 27-yard touchdown to Rogers with 8:50 remaining ended up being the game-winner.
“We find a way to make it interesting,” Colzie said. “Excited for the win. It’s great to learn from wins as opposed to having to learn from mistakes. But we got to play better if we’re looking to finish this season strong.”
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How FAMU football’s offense carried it to victory at Alabama A&M in Week 12 SWAC win
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
