Bethune-Cookman rips Bears

by Keith Henry

Sixteen seconds into the game at Hughes Stadium, Morgan State found out they were in for a long day.

Bethune-Cookman quarterback Matt Johnson completed a 70 yard touchdown pass to Eddie Poole in that time which jump started a 69-32 decimation of the Bears on Saturday.

The pass helped set up the Wildcats' domination in which they accounted for 640 total yards of offense. Johnson was 13-of-18 for 261 yards, one touchdown passing and running and an interception.

That only began the problems for Morgan State (2-3, 1-1 MEAC). Senior defensive back Nico Scott said about that first B-CU drive, "Whenever you have a sudden change situation in a game like that, (it's)huge. With those guys, they took that momentum and just rolled. It was a blown coverage and we didn't communicate calls well and it resulted in seven points. We have to communicate better."

The Bears' defense had no answer for the Bethune-Cookman running game either. They accounted for eight touchdowns and 366 yards rushing.

Morgan State's offense put up their most points in two years. However, the Bear offense failed miserably when it came to taking care of the football. Donovan Dickerson may have costed himself a starting spot due to his shortcomings. Dickerson was 8-of-25 for 74 yards with three interceptions and one fumble. That accounted for half of the Bears' eight turnovers on the evening.

Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley wasn't happy about his team's play. "It wasn't an effort on either side of the ball. Offense or defense, " said Hill-Eley. Anytime you turn the ball over eight times, we can't beat a little league team like that. We have to do a better job of protecting the football. We have to make some changes in some areas that were making some crazy decisions. We'll get back, look at it and make our adjustments from it."

Leading Bethune-Cookman (4-0, 2-0 MEAC) from the ground was Isidore Jackson who had 13 rushes for 101 yards. But Andronicus Lovette hurt the Bears deeply with seven rushes for 72 yards and three touchdowns.

Morgan State did show some fight late in the second quarter. Down 42-10, the Bears completed a five play drive when David Brown rushed into the endzone from two yards out. Dickerson completed a pass to Cherenfant to execute the two-point conversion and cut the deficit to 42-18 with 44 seconds left.

The Bears struck again 22 seconds later when Scott intercepted a Johnson pass and ran the ball 44 yards into the endzone. Brown ran the ball in from two yards out for another two-point conversion to cut the deeficit again to 42-26 with 22 seconds left.

MSU came out of halftime with possession of the ball and a chance to cut the deficit to at least one possession. However, the Bears' issues with the football reared it's ugly head again. Dickerson fumbled the ball when Ryan Lewis sacked him. Lewis recovered the ball and ran it into the endzone from 33 yards out with 14:05 left. With the extra point, B-CU extended the lead to 49-26.

Dickerson threw an interception on the Bears' next possession and was taken out the game for redshirt freshman Delonte Williams. The Bears were only able to conjure one touchdown in the second half.

The Bears won't have much time to dwell on this because they're hitting the road for a game at North Carolina A&T on October 9 in Greensboro.