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SHARON GINNB-CC 58, FAMU 52 (OT): Wildcats come back from 17 down to take the Florida Classic.
ORLANDO - You thought last year's Florida Classic was one for the ages? Bethune-Cookman was just getting warmed up.
Down at halftime again - this time by 17 points - the Wildcats put on a show Saturday, roaring back and tamping down Florida A&M's passing attack late in the game to pull out a 58-52 overtime victory in front of 71,153 at the Citrus Bowl.
The victory was the third in a row for Bethune-Cookman, a first against its archrival.
The game took 4 hours, 49 minutes and salvaged the season for the Wildcats (6-4), who had been in the running for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and Division I-AA playoff berth before losing two games in a row this month.
B-CC coach Alvin Wyatt was so overcome at the end, he had to be wheeled off the field in a stretcher as Wildcats officials hovered and police officers shooed away the media.
A team spokesman said Wyatt's pulse was normal and he was stable, but he was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center as a precaution.
Wyatt, who called all the plays from the second quarter on, apparently was dehydrated and weak from so many intense hours on the sideline.
"He was sweating more than I was, and he wasn't even playing," said quarterback and Wildcats MVP Jimmie Russell.
Star slotback Eric Weems thought Wyatt would be fine.
"Oh, no, he's just dramatic," Weems said. "He's into it is all."
And who wouldn't be?
Weems brought B-CC back from a 28-10 halftime deficit a year ago, scoring three touchdowns - including one in the final seconds - to lead the Wildcats to a 39-35 victory.
He said before the game that he hoped he wouldn't have to do it again - and he didn't.
This time it was up to Russell, who took over in the first quarter after starter Jarod Rucker proved ineffective.
Russell, a freshman, threw for 325 yards and a touchdown. When the passing game wasn't working - FAMU sacked him five times - he took to the ground, rushing 23 times for 101 yards and another touchdown.
Russell and the Wildcats had plenty of ground to make up after the Rattlers (3-7) roared out to a 28-7 lead.
FAMU, which had three weeks off to prepare for the game, came out clicking on all cylinders, led by senior quarterback Ben Dougherty (462 yards, six touchdowns, 25 of 46 passing).
But the Wildcats, as in last season, refused to quit, especially on defense where the blitz proved effective against FAMU's four-receiver set.
"We always said we believed in ourselves," linebacker Jamal Muhammed said. "We never stopped. We had more people coming after them and we knew we'd break through."
Early on, Dougherty looked infallible. He had plenty of time to make big plays, throwing a 53-yard touchdown pass to Roosevelt Kiser and three more short scoring passes in the game's first 18 minutes.
Then Russell threw an 88-yard TD to Richard Woodbury, Wildcats returner Kyle Herbert had a 94-yard kickoff return and Weems scored on a 10-yard run to shrink FAMU's lead to 38-21 at haltime.
The Wildcats seized momentum late in the third quarter. Junior Ricky Williams, a Boca Ciega graduate, returned a kickoff 80 yards to set up a touchdown that pulled B-CC within 52-38.
The Wildcats scored two more unanswered TDs on long, clock-chewing drives, culminating with scoring runs by Jonathan Summers (8 yards) and Russell (12 yards) that tied the score at 52.
B-CC's defense held FAMU scoreless in overtime, then the Wildcats put the game away with a 15-yard scoring run by Rodney Johnson.
"I'm feeling empty," FAMU receiver Roosevelt Kiser said. "We worked for three weeks and we still came up short. It's a bottomless feeling."