Photo By: Nathaniel Price/The Famuan
Running Back, Devin Bowers, eludes defense to gain a few extra yards at FAMU's 2015 Homecoming Game.
After coming off of a huge homecoming win, the Florida A&M University Football team will rest up to face the number one team in their conference.
Head Coach Alex Wood said that a big part of their 41-13 win over the Delaware State Hornets was the fact that their team came together and came ready to play.
“We show up and play hard no matter who our opponent is, and play to win every Saturday,” Coach Wood said.
The Rattlers were able to secure their first win on the 2015 season and their first homecoming win since 2012.
Not only did the team win in a dominant fashion, but they won in front of a crowd of 22,678 fans, their largest in the past five years.
Junior Quarterback Carson Royal and defensive back John Boston represented well for the Rattlers as they were both named as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Players of the Week.
Royal threw for 229 yards passing against the 0-5 Hornets as well as adding 44 yards rushing on nine carries.
He says that the accolade is a testimony to being that he and the team has battled a lot of adversity over the course of this season.
“It feels great. I’ve had some ups and downs this season and I just want to make sure I’m staying consistent,” Royal said.
Royal lit up Bragg Memorial Stadium with a huge 76 yard pass for a touchdown to senior wide receiver Jay Jones.
While on the defensive side of the ball, Boston recorded 13 tackles, seven solo, while adding a sack for a loss of five yards, to help limit Delaware State to just 13 points on the day.
Along with Boston were a number of other defensive personnel that attributed key stops and big plays for a tenured Rattler defense.
Senior linebacker Akil Blount was able to intercept a pass from Delaware State’s quarterback for a 75 yard interception return for a touchdown.
“I was just happy to make a play for the team,” Blount said. “To make big plays at home is always a good feeling.”
Along with Blount was senior linebacker Kashawn Butler with a 50 yard interception return, adding his second interception for his senior season campaign.
The Rattlers defense accounted for a total of five turnovers on the day.
Moving forward, the Rattlers will go into a bye week where they will rest and prepare for a 5-1 North Carolina A&T Aggie team for their final home game of the 2015 season.
The Aggies are currently undefeated in conference play as they will go to head to head with a winless Howard Bison ball club this weekend.
In last year’s matchup against the Aggies the Rattlers fell 40-21, but under the leadership of first year head Coach Alex Wood, the Rattlers hope to spoil the North Carolina A&T’s undefeated conference record.
Coach Wood said that the one key thing that he and his Rattlers will work on during this bye week is fundamentals.
“We’ll know what they do, who they are. We’ll blend some of that stuff in this week, but we are primarily focusing on us,” Wood said.
Game time is set for 5 p.m. ET at Bragg Memorial Stadium.