FAMUAN player of the week: Bishop Bonnett

Bishop Bonnet taking a hand-off against Fort Valley State on Sept. 1
Sydne Vigille | The Famuan

In the opening game of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Bishop Bonnett lit up the field against Savannah State University and helped propel the Florida A&M Rattlers to a 31-13 win.

In the first half of the game, Bonnett did not seem to make much of an impact as he went into the half with only one reception for one yard while the Rattlers were trailing 7-3. Coming into the second half, Bonnett seemed determined to give the Rattlers offense a jump start going into the third quarter. To open the third quarter, Bonnett electrified Bragg as Ryan Stanley delivered a strike to Bonnett who went 69 yards to score the team’s first touchdown with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter giving them a 10-7 lead.

Although Bonnett finished the game with two receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown, he was able to deliver on the ground as well. Bonnett carried the ball nine times going for 89 yards and flipped into the end zone late in the fourth quarter to seal the game against SSU.

In the team’s press conference after the game, coach Simmons acknowledged the impact that Bonnett had on the Rattlers offense for the rest of the game.

“Bishop (Bonnett) had a huge play that sparked us in the third quarter and I think that woke the offense up.”

When Bonnett was asked about any emotional high he may have felt from his tremendous game against Savannah State, it seemed as if he expected to have this kind of breakthrough game at some point.

“I can’t really say it’s an emotional high because I expected this. Last Sunday I woke up and was like let’s get to work. We were supposed to beat them (Savannah State University) like this,” Bonnett said.

When linebacker Terry Jefferson gave his opening statement in the press conference, he described the tenacity the defense played with and how it translated over to the offensive side of the ball.

“We had our offense’s back the whole game and we keep ourselves motivated. We only held them (Savannah State University) to seven points in the first half. We knew that our offense was going to catch their momentum and once they got going they couldn’t be stopped.”

Next week the Rattlers will travel to Durham, NC to take on North Carolina Central University looking for their second MEAC win. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.