Golden Lions snakebit by Rattlers on the road
The switch to Don Treadwell wasn’t a magic-wand act to suddenly change Golden Lion football fortunes. Although the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff fought Florida A&M University to a scoreless first quarter, the Rattlers rattled off 24 unanswered points on their way to a 27-6 win before a homecoming crowd Saturday in Tallahassee.
Treadwell, the Lions’ offensive coordinator, coached his first game as the interim head man after the Oct. 20 firing of Doc Gamble after nearly three seasons.
UAPB (2-6, 0-5 SWAC), assured of a losing season with Saturday’s defeat, already had the unenviable task of trying to shut down the surging Rattlers (6-2, 4-1) on the road but managed to hold them empty after a missed 54-yard field goal and a punt on their first two drives.
The Lions avoided their first shutout loss in six years to the day after linebacker Jamarion Henderson returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown with 12:45 left in the game. Quarterback Skyler Perry was sacked on a 2-point attempt.
UAPB’s offense was denied, however. Perry, returning to the lineup for the first time in three weeks after a shoulder injury, furiously led the Lions down the field from their own 17 with 4:25 remaining, but was stopped 6 yards shy of the end zone when Daemon Dawkins was tackled on a 3-yard catch as time expired.
Perry completed 21 of 38 passes for 173 yards with an interception. He was sacked three times.
UAPB has not been shut out since a 70-0 loss at Grambling State University on Oct. 29, 2016. Henderson’s pick-6 extended the Lions’ scoring streak to 60 games.
Jeremy Moussa completed 25 of 37 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns as the Rattlers won
their sixth in a row overall and 14th straight at home. UAPB senior Nathan Seward picked off Moussa twice.
THE GAME CHANGED WHEN …
Moussa completed four of four passes to Xavier Smith on a scoring drive that went into the second quarter.
Smith’s 16-yard touchdown catch with 13:18 left put the Rattlers ahead 7-0. Smith had 94 yards on nine catches, all in the first half.
Perry struggled to reignite an offense coming off Kayvon Britten’s 277 rushing yards against Alabama A&M. UAPB punted on five of its first six drives, with Perry tossing an interception to Kendall Bohler on the other. Florida A&M went up 14-0 after Moussa hit Jeremiah Pruitte for 11 yards with 5:23 to go before the half and made it 17-0 with no time left on a 20-yard Jose Romo-Martinez field goal.
Jah’Marae Sheread caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Moussa with 11:36 left in the third to extend the Rattlers’ lead to 24-0. Sheread had five catches for 69 yards.
OTHER STATS
Britten was held to 30 yards on 12 carries. UAPB netted 20 rushing yards as a team, however, and gave up 201 to Florida A&M (including 108 on A.J. Davis’ 18 carries). The Rattlers had 498 total yards to the Lions’ 193. UAPB’s Dawkins caught eight passes for 95 yards.
UAPB lineman Athen Smith forced a Moussa fumble that was recovered by Tavon Hardwick with 6:51 left in the third quarter, one of four turnovers by the Rattlers.
Cristofer Thompson tried to give UAPB some offensive points, but his 25-yard field goal try was blocked with 5:39 left in the game. FAMU’s Romo-Martinez was two for three on field goals. His first attempt from 54 yards on the opening drive went wide right. But he made a 47-yard kick with 4:12 left in the game.
THE GAME BALL GOES TO …
Moussa for nearing the 300-yard mark and overcoming four turnovers. Seward gets honorable mention for his 0two interceptions, as well as Henderson for the pick-6.
NEXT UP …
UAPB will visit Grambling State next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. FAMU will host Southern University at 5 p.m. next Saturday.