Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 11-25-16 Online Edition

HBCU’s Wrap Up Season
Bethune Cookman Keeps Bragging Rights For 6th Straight Year; Beats FAMU 39-19
BCU’s players celebrate after their big win at the Florida Classic.
North Carolina A&T To Play In NCAA FCS Playoffs
ORLANDO, FL – Larry Brihm, Jr. was named MVP from Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, Nov. 19, as the Wild- cats rolled past rival Florida A&M, 39-19 in front of 45,372 fans inside Camping World Stadium with B-CU collecting its unprecedented sixth con- secutive win over FAMU in the annual Florida Blue Florida Classic.
After allowing the Rattlers to open the game with a 3-0 lead on their opening possession, it was Bethune-Cookman (4-5, 4-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Con- ference) scoring on each of its next three drives to secure an
insurmountable 21-10 lead at the half.
For Bethune-Cookman, the win was the team's fourth con- secutive after suffering through injuries and Hurri- cane Matthew that led to the Cats beginning the campaign 0-5. Since that time, the Cats and Head Coach Terry Sims have rolled off four consecu- tive with an average margin of victory at 22.3 points per game.
They put on a valiant effort for three quarters, before BCU pulled away in the final stanza for a 39-19 Mid-Eastern Ath- letic Conference victory.
Despite a disappointing 42-21 loss in their regular season fi- nale against North Carolina Central Saturday, eliminating the chance of winning a MEAC football championship and a berth to the Celebration Bowl, the North Carolina A&T Aggies managed to receive an at-large bid Sunday to participate in the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
The Aggies (9-2) will face CAA member Richmond (8-3) Satur- day at Robins Stadium on the Richmond campus.
A&T will be making its first appearance to the NCAA play-
offs since 2003 when the Aggies faced Wofford in a first round game that resulted in a 31-10 loss.
NC A&T’s game against Rich- mond is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start and can be seen on ESPN 3.
North Carolina Central Beats North Carolina A&T; MEAC Champs
NEWBERRY, S.C. – The cards seemed stacked against the seventh-seeded Tuskegee University Golden Tigers before they ever hit the field against second-seeded Newberry Col- lege on Saturday afternoon. The team had to travel 330 miles to their destination, with a minor collision with a pair of buses in the convoy making the trip longer. They also had to face a conference champion who was riding a 10-game winning streak, and the weather called for gusts throughout the game.
However, shortly after the game kicked off, all of the lower seeds started to pull away in their games in Super Region 2
Tuskegee Pulls Off Big Playoff Win Inspite Of Travel
Mishap And Being Underdogs
and the wind did not pick up until late in the second half. Throw that in with a pair of ca- reer days on offense and a pair
of defensive highlights, and the Golden Tigers left Seltzer Field with a 35-33 victory over New- berry.
DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University was tired of sharing. After earning conference co-cham- pionships in each of the last two seasons, NCCU captured the Mid-Eastern Athletic Con- ference title outright and a bid to the second annual Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl with a 42-21 victory over rival North Carolina A&T State Uni- versity inside an overflowing O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Saturday.
For NCCU (9-2, 8-0 MEAC), the 20th-ranked team in the FCS Coaches Poll, it is the first time in the gridiron program’s history the Eagles have won three straight conference
championships. And like the previous two, this regular sea- son ends with a triumph over its nationally-ranked rival.
North Carolina A&T (9-2, 7- 1 MEAC) entered the contest at No. 9 in the coaches poll and with the nation’s fifth-ranked run defense, but NCCU senior quarterback Malcolm Bell and sophomore running back Dorrel McClain combined for 240 yards and five touch- downs on the ground. The Ag- gies had not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season... until Saturday. Bell rushed for a game-high 131 yards and two touchdowns, while McClain tallied 109 rushing yards with three trips to the end zone.
Southern University Cited By NCAA
Southern University was cited for lack of institutional control when the school failed to monitor its eligibility certifi- cation process and properly apply financial aid rules in com- pliance with Committee on Aca- demic Performance penalties, the NCAA announced last Wednesday.
Southern is accused of im- properly certifying more than 200 athletes during a six-year period in all 15 sports, accord- ing to a NCAA report.
As a result, Southern agreed to self-imposed penalties of a $5,000 fine and scholarship re- ductions.
The NCAA explained that the school’s certification issues oc-
curred for three “primary rea- sons.” Errors that occurred when academic records were transferred from an outdated system to a new system; poor record keeping within the ath- letics department; and a lack of
training and involvement by campus departments outside athletics in the certification process. These issues resulted in 439 instances of improper certifications for 218 student- athletes.
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