Hornets bring challenge to Bragg Stadium

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

There are two things that coach Willie Simmons can’t lose sight of as the FAMU football team goes into its second SWAC game at home.

First, there is the last-minute dramatics that it took to beat Alabama State last season. Then, there is the demon called complacency.

Simmons said he constantly reminds the Rattlers about the latter. The challenge for his players is not to be sidetracked because of how talented they are.

They demonstrated their ability last Saturday with a second-half blitz that led to a 31-10 victory over Division II opponent West Florida. Complacency could have been why the Argos managed to go into halftime tied at 3-3.

“When you’re a very, very talented group of individuals, we are battling that spirit of complacency that says I don’t have to do that much,” Simmons said during his Monday press conference. “You have to work harder to even be on the same playing field. Athletes know that.”

After overcoming whatever plagued them in the first half, the Rattlers finished the game with 475 yards of total offense to 213 for the Argos. FAMU’s defense limited West Florida to 79 yards rushing, while quarterback Peewee Jarrett was held to 134 yard on 16 of 37 passing.

Quarterback Jeremy Moussa turned a so-so night into a spectacular one with a third-quarter performance that produced 21 points. During the stretch Moussa was 10 of 11 for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

Moussa completed 18 of 27 passes for 271 yards at the end of the night.

“I challenged Jeremy at halftime,” Simmons said, explaining the turnaround. “When the offense isn’t clicking, he has to be that steady guy that makes the routine plays.

“We didn’t play as hard in that first half as we are capable of playing. When we did that, we saw how explosive we can be.”

Moussa threw the ball to 11 different receivers. Marcus Riley, who scored the second touchdown for FAMU, led the receivers with 77 yards. Kamari Young and Nicholas Dixon scored the other touchdowns in the third quarter.

West Florida refused to go away, putting together a furious drive. They scored on a fourth-and-six play when Jarrett found Caden Leggett on a 23-yard pass to end an 11-play drive that took 4:17 to cover 70 yards in the fourth quarter.

FAMU responded on the ensuing possession with a 73-yard run by Terrell Jennings and Cameron Gilles added the PAT for the final margin.

Alabama State is coming into Saturday’s game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Stadium with a 1-1 record. Both are the result of stunning outcomes. The Hornets were beaten by Miles College 21-17 after starting the season with a 14-10 win over Southern in Baton Rouge.

The Hornets are coming to Tallahassee with bad memories of their meeting last season when FAMU got a 24-14 win on a returned blocked field goal. The 52-yard attempt by Jayden John was recovered by Kendall Bohler, who took it back for the touchdown.

This time the stakes are even higher because a loss could jeopardize the Rattlers’ hold on first place in the SWAC East Division standing .

“This is a game that when we came into the conference people were excited to see; old SIAC rivals,” Simmons said. “This if going to be another highly charged ball game (and) we’ve got to be ready to play. We are the team that everybody is gunning for now. When you’re that team, you’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”