FAMU football looks to stay on track against Morgan State

 

FAMU Football Head Coach Willie Simmons adressess media during weekly press conference

Video Courtesy: Oldens Lafortune

 

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the Florida A&M football team is currently on a six-game winning streak (6-1, 4-0 MEAC). This weekend in another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match up, they will look to continue their streak on the road against the Morgan State Bears (1-6, 1-3 MEAC) who currently sit at 7th place in the MEAC.

The Rattlers defeated North Carolina A&T in overtime last Sunday in a come from behind victory. The Aggies stayed in the game throughout all four quarters, tying the game at the end of regulation. They drew first blood scoring a field goal before FAMU back-up Quarterback Rasean McKay threw the game-winning touchdown, marking a 34-31 victory for the Rattlers.

FAMU Head coach Willie Simmons held his weekly press conference and discussed the events from the previous game against  NC A&T and his upcoming game against the Bears.

 “We have a goal in mind, and that is to finish the season as the best team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference,” Simmons said. “Every team that stands in our way is a trap, they try to take that away from us,” Simmons added.

This upcoming game will be the 32nd meeting between both schools, with the Rattlers leading the series history 20-8 along with three games being vacated by the NCAA. In this series, there have been five games decided by one score, which is notable because FAMU’s season thus far has been chronicled by numerous one score victories.

The season, however, seems to be paying off for the Rattlers, as they are ranked number 20 by the Football Championship Subdivision National Rankings, making it the first time in a decade that the football team has been nationally ranked. 

Coach Simmons says this accomplishment doesn’t mean as much being that it is mid-season and that the team has more goals to accomplish.

“We talk about keeping the outside noise outside and this top 20 ranking, as fortunate as it is for this football team, is outside noise because it detracts from what our ultimate goals are,” Simmons explained. 

“Every game left on our schedule is a conference game and we have a goal to finish as the number one team in the MEAC and we have to take care of business this week for that to happen. That’s our focus, everything about us is dead set on Morgan State,” Simmons said.

With Bishop Bonnett and Ryan Stanley being key contributors in the offense, the status of their play this Saturday will be a game-time decision.

“We want to make sure that Bishop (Bonnett), Ryan (Stanley), and all the other guys who are banged up, including Chad Hunter, are not brought back prematurely and are not put further into harm’s way,” Simmons said

The official game time for this matchup is set at 3 P. M. (Eastern) in Baltimore, MD at Hughes Stadium.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.