Bethune-Cookman fumbles 3 times in loss to Grambling State, Stetson routed by Marist
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Bethune-Cookman and Grambling State turned into a second-half defensive battle after 44 combined first-half points in the Tigers’ 31-23 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Grambling State took a 10-0 lead after the first quarter on a 23-yard field goal by Theodore Caballero and a 38-yard pass from Hayden Benoit to Andrew Frazier.
Timmy McClain took over at quarterback for usual starter Cam’Ron Ransom after Ransom fumbled on two of Bethune-Cookman‘s first three drives.
McClain led the Wildcats to tie the score at 10 less than six minutes into the second quarter thanks to a 30-yard field goal from Juan Dominguez and an 11-yard run by McClain.
The Tigers and Wildcats traded scores for the rest of the first half. Grambling State led 17-10 after Benoit found Nae’Saan Dickerson for a 59-yard touchdown, but Bethune-Cookman immediately answered with a 61-yard strike from McClain to Maleek Huggins.
The difference was the Tigers scored their third touchdown of the first half on a 5-yard toss from Benoit to Patrick Williams, while the Wildcats answered with a 39-yard field goal with a minute left to trail 24-20 at the break.
That’s where the scoring stopped, as both teams didn’t register a point for 26:37 of game time. Bethune-Cookman had a chance to break the deadlock early in the fourth quarter when it was on the Tigers’ 25, but Ransom, who returned to the game, fumbled for a third time.
Grambling State finally broke through with Benoit’s fourth touchdown pass of the evening — this one an 8-yarder to Keith Jones Jr. Benoit went 12-for-20 for 220 yards, four TDs and an interception.
Tiger running back Andre Crews carried the ball 14 times for 130 yards.
Dominguez made a 42-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the game, but Grambling State recovered the onside kick to ice it.
The fumbles were the obvious flaw for Bethune-Cookman, but Ransom and McClain were both productive through the air. McClain went 15-for-18 for 224 yards and a touchdown, and Ransom finished 9-for-11 for 73 yards.
Bethune-Cookman fell to 5-5 (4-2 SWAC), while Grambling improved to 7-3 (4-2 SWAC).
Marist 41, Stetson 13
Stetson was blown out by Pioneer League foe Marist on Saturday.
The Hatters lost their third game in a row by at least 28 points, and this one was never close as the Red Foxes scored the first 38 points.
Marist led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter after a 23-yard field goal by Samer Layous and a 45-yard pick-6 by Jace Williamson. The Red Foxes’ lead grew substantially by halftime after four second-quarter touchdowns, and all of them featured quarterback Sonny Mannino.
Mannino found Connor Hulstein for a 78-yard touchdown pass 1:02 into the second quarter. Almost six minutes later, Mannino scored on a 49-yard run with 8:11 left into the quarter. Mannino added a 36-yard touchdown toss to Lance Martinez and a 3-yard run.
Mannino finished with 187 passing yards, 57 rushing yards and those four scores.
Stetson quarterback Kael Alexander ended the run with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Beau Bankston with two seconds left in the half to trail 38-7.
Layous kicked a 46-yard field goal to put the Red Foxes up 41-7 in the third quarter, and Stetson finished the game with a 2-yard touchdown run by Cayden Betts with 48 seconds left.
The bright spot for the Hatters were Betts and running back Michael Dempsey, who combined for 26 carries, 144 yards and a touchdown. Marist’s ball carriers combined for 206 rushing yards.
The win pushed the Red Foxes to 4-6 (2-4 PFL), while the Hatters fell to 3-7 (2-4 PFL).
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bethune-Cookman football falls to Grambling, Stetson routed by Marist
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