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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 17, 2002
It's just the third week of the season, but the book on Florida A&M is this:
Without quarterback Casey Printers, the Rattlers are beatable.
With Printers in the game, FAMU (2-1) took a 24-0 first-half lead over Morgan State (0-3) on Saturday.
Printers completed 15 of 30 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, a 27-yarder to Dennis Bonga with 5:04 left in the second quarter. Printers scored on a 7-yard scramble on the first drive and finished with 21 rushing yards.
But Printers left with a sprained left ankle with 36 seconds remaining in the half.
"All I know was I was trying to hit Rod Miller coming across the middle," Printers told the Tallahassee-Democrat. "I threw it, and all I could see was the ball getting knocked out. When I got back up on my feet, my ankle was hurting. I couldn't put any pressure on it."
Without Printers, a different FAMU took the field, and an energized Morgan State came right at it. The Bears outscored the Rattlers 16-7 in the third quarter as backup quarterback Bradshaw Littlejohn hit tight end Vishante Shiancoe with a 73-yard touchdown with 9:53 left and tossed a 24-yarder to William Sherman with 1:38 left in the third.
Morgan State threatened to do more damage until FAMU's defense rose up. The Bears were driving when cornerback Wally Kwaku broke up a third-down pass at the goal line.
Linebacker Chris Gilchrist blitzed up the middle on fourth down and sacked LeJominick Washington, preserving FAMU's first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory of the season.
FAMU backup quarterback Reggie Hayes completed just 2 of 6 passes for 59 yards and ran for a 13-yard touchdown.
Printers will miss some practice this week, and coach Billy Joe said he is concerned about his quarterback's availability for Saturday's MEAC game at Delaware State.
"His sprained ankle is something that we'll have to evaluate day to day," Joe told the Tallahassee Democrat. "I'm hopeful that he'll be able to play this weekend. But even if he's able to play, what will his cardiovascular (conditioning) be? What will his timing, rhythm and accuracy be? Because he's not going to do too much practicing this week.
"No matter how you look at it, it's an issue that we have to deal with."
BACK INTO THE FIRE: Central Florida had a week off after disappointing losses to Penn State and Arizona State and practiced Sunday in preparation for the school's first Mid-American Conference game: a 7 p.m. ESPN2 matchup Friday at Marshall, which lost 47-21 to then No.11 Virginia Tech on Thursday. UCF coach Mike Kruczek's game plan: run the ball and keep quarterback Byron Leftwich, a Heisman candidate, off the field.
"We do not want to get into a shootout with them," Kruczek said. "We would prefer to possess the football and run the football at these people and keep their offense off the field.
"It's critical for us to win the battle of possession and try and keep (Leftwich) and his teammates off the football field."
ROSTER ROULETTE: FAMU linebacker Alex Forston missed the Morgan State game because of questions about his academic eligibility. He said he expects to return soon.
Eligibility concerns about linebacker Torre Warren were cleared up last week when he received a sixth season of eligibility from the NCAA.
But the biggest name to return is running back Kelsie Lordeus, whom the NCAA originally turned down for a sixth season. But Lordeus won his appeal, and FAMU's leading rusher from last season with 745 yards (and nine touchdowns) will return for the Atlanta Football Classic against Tennessee State Sept. 28 at the Georgia Dome.
-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.