On Saturday afternoon, the 17th ranked Florida A&M Rattlers added another win in the record column, as they defeated their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) rival Delaware State University 52-30.
As the Rattlers continued to light up the scoreboard all afternoon long, FAMU quarterback Ryan Stanley made history yet again this season, as he passed Quinn Gray to become FAMU’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (58) and passing attempts (1,017).
After missing last week’s game against Morgan State University, Stanley was inserted back into the lineup and did not disappoint. Stanley went onto complete 15 of his 25 passes for 253 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Stanley spoke about his night and achievements he accomplished in the victory.
“(It’s) just a blessing and all glory to the man above, it just shows how we’ve been able to stick to the mission and a lot of guys in that locker room were here when we (FAMU) were (1-10) and now we got a chance to finish (10-1),” Stanley said. “We’re just blessed that the hard work has paid off, but we still got a long way to go,” Stanley added.
FAMU wide receiver Xavier Smith, who just so happened to be on the receiving end of Stanley’s record-breaking touchdown pass, finished his evening hauling in nine receptions for 184 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The chemistry Smith and Stanley have displayed on the field all season thus far speaks to the growth and maturity each one of them has seen in their games throughout their past couple of seasons together.
“It’s a blessing, he (Stanley) really just makes the game easier for me and the way he throws the ball, it just always seems to find me,” Smith said. “He just makes the game easy for me and it was a blessing to be on the other end of the pass that helped him break another school record,” Smith stated.
As the Rattlers took care of business against the pesky Hornets of DSU to continue their winning streak, FAMU Head Coach Willie Simmons reflected on the team’s overall performance after the game.
“…We had a really good first half as we jumped out to a great lead going into the locker room, and by the second half we did some uncharacteristic things,” Simmons said. “(We) turned the ball over which allowed them to kind of get back into the football game, but eventually our guys settled down and we were able to put some drives together, offensively and defensively,” Simmons exclaimed.
With next week serving as a bye week for the Rattlers (8-1, 6-0 MEAC), they will play their final home game in Bragg Memorial Stadium against Howard University (1-8, 1-4 MEAC) on Nov.16.
The game will broadcast on ESPN3 and will begin at 4 P.M.