TALLAHASSEE - After attending two colleges and spending two years on a church mission, it seems quarterback Ben Dougherty may have found a home at Florida A&M.
Dougherty threw two touchdowns, ran for another and totaled 411 yards of offense as the Wildcats defeated Morgan State 26-7 on Saturday night.
Dougherty, who went to Iowa State and North Iowa Community College before transferring to Florida A&M, completed 21 of 36 passes for 317 yards and rushed for 94 more.
"I'm completely comfortable," Dougherty said. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the country."
Morgan State went 80 yards on the opening drive, capping it with quarterback LeJominick Washington's 3-yard touchdown run.
But Florida A&M controlled the rest of the game.
Rod Miller caught a 13-yard touchdown from Dougherty with 9:07 left in the second quarter to get the Rattlers within 7-6. Dougherty got Florida A&M deep into Morgan State territory on the drive by hitting Anthony Demps with a 74-yard pass.
Juan Vasquez kicked a pair of field goals to give Florida A&M a 12-7 halftime lead.
Dougherty scored on a 26-yard run early in the third and threw a 39-yard pass to Gerard Morgan with 8:45 left to cap the scoring.
Florida A&M has not lost to Morgan State since 1994 and is 16-2 against the Bears.
VALDOSTA ST. 45, FLA. ATLANTIC 17: Barrett Wilkes threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns for the visiting Blazers.
Valdosta State, which extended its regular-season winning streak to 29 games, lost in the Division II championship game last season.
Wilkes completed 35 of 49 passes in his third career start for Valdosta State. He threw scoring passes to four receivers - Andre Zellner, Nekeyma Wright, Raymond Thomas and Bama Adams.
Jared Allen completed 16 of 22 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown for Florida Atlantic, which totaled 385 yards but allowed 447. Aaron Sanchez ran 4 yards in the fourth for the Owls' other touchdown.
INDIANA ST. 13, FLA. INT. 10: Jake Shields rushed for 213 yards on 29 carries to lead the host Sycamores. Indiana State finished with 264 yards rushing to 59 for Florida International. Kyle Hooper kicked field goals of 32 and 25 yards in the second and third quarters to give Indiana State the lead for good. Jamie Burke completed 18 of 31 passes for 139 yards for the Golden Panthers, and Rashod Smith had 59 yards on nine carries.
B-CC 31, ALABAMA ST. 26: Bethune-Cookman rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit in the Gulf Coast Classic in Mobile, Ala. The Wildcats trailed 19-9 with 1:54 left in the third quarter, but scored 22 straight points to take control. Rodney Johnson's 5-yard scoring run with 1:28 left in the third quarter brought Bethune-Cookman within 19-17, and Allen Suber's 3-yard run about five minutes later put the Wildcats ahead to stay.
LENOIR-RHYNE 24, JACKSONVILLE 0: Scott Branton threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns for the host Bears. The Dolphins had beaten Lenoir-Rhyne in each of the past two seasons. Mike Sturgill completed 14 of 35 passes for 160 yards and Emmett Hunter had 19 carries for 50 yards for Jacksonville. The Bears held Jacksonville to 60 yards rushing and 220 yards overall.
