HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Sophomore running back Donovan Eaglin (Houston, Texas) announced his presence with 200-plus yards from scrimmage and three scores as Alabama A&M (1-4, 1-1 SWAC) downed Bethune-Cookman (1-3, 1-1 SWAC) 35-27 on Homecoming and in an NCAA Division I football game on Saturday, October 1.
 
THE STATS - ALABAMA A&M
Eaglin stole the show with 190 yards on the ground with two rushing TDs and two receptions for 12 yards, one for a third score. Setting up the offense was junior quarterback Xavier Lankford (Pelham, Ala.) with 204 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on 16-of-25 passing.
 
Senior running back Harold Jemison (Nashville, Tenn.) toted the rock 13 times for 55 yards while senior wide receiver Cameron Young (Daphne, Ala.) hauled in three balls for 54 yards and a touchdown. Fellow senior wideout Isiah Cox (Jasper, Ala.) added a TD grab to round out the top offensive performances.
 
Defensively, senior linebackers Dre Terry (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) and Farrell Hester II (Las Vegas, Nev.) did damage with the former delivering nine stops, four solo, and the latter notching four tackles and a forced fumble while sharing a sack. Senior safety JaBraun McNeal (Gadsden, Ala.) and junior linebacker Thomas Douglas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) each had full sacks. Sophomore safety Moses Douglass (Springfield, Ohio) added seven stops and an interception.
 
THE GAME
After holding B-CU to five plays and 17 yards on their opening drive, Alabama A&M would go to work when they had the ball. Taking over on the Wildcats 41-yard line, the Bulldogs' Eaglin would break a second down run for 23 yards and then add a seven-yard touchdown scamper at the 9:28 mark for an early 7-0 lead.
 
Bethune would cover nine plays and 41 yards on their next possession, only to see it snuffed out as Hester II stripped Jimmie Robinson III and recovered the fumble at the A&M 34-yard line, squelching the scoring opportunity.
 
The Bulldogs would then grind out a massive 11-play, 66-yard drive over the next 4:32, one that spanned the quarter break and was capped off by a six-yard Eaglin touchdown run to extend to 14-0 with just six seconds gone in the second period.
 
Neither team would get anywhere on their next two drives as B-CU stalled across midfield at the 37-yard line while Lankford would be picked off by Omari Hill-Robinson at the Bethune 18-yard line on the ninth play of their possession.
 
That would be the beginning of the tide turning as the Wildcats went a whopping 93 yards in 11 plays and 2:30 to cut it to 14-7 on a two-yard TD plunge by Jalon Jones with 4:40 showing on the clock. In that drive Kemari Averett hauled in a 30-yard bomb and Daveno Ellington snagged one from 19 yards out to move the sticks.
 
B-CU's defense would then step up and drop A&M for nine yards on three plays to get the ball right back and knew what to do with it. It would be Averett and Ellington again as Jones hit them for 30- and 20-yard completions, respectively, on back-to-back plays to get the ball down to the Alabama A&M eight-yard line. From there Que'shaun Byrd would drive it home on the ground for the tying score, knotting it up at 14-14 at the 2:17 mark.
 
A&M would get a 21-yard rush from Eaglin and a 14-yard scamper from Lankford on their ensuing possession but would run out of time as the half got them before they could get past the Bethune 49-yard line.
 
They would pick up where they left off, however, as they put together a massive 10-play, 75-yard drive spanning 4:34. The drive of a thousand tiny papercuts would come to a close as Lankford found Cox in the endzone from nine yards out to pull back ahead, 21-14, at the 10:26 mark.
 
Following a pair of fruitless drives the Wildcats got back on their horse as Jones connected with Dylaan Lee for 36 yards down to the A&M 15-yard line. Three plays later Jones drilled a 14-yard pass to Marcus Riley to cut it to 21-20 but it would stay there as Riley could not reach the endzone on a failed two-point attempt.
 
A&M would answer right back as Young delivered both a key 38-yard reception in the middle of an eight-play, 75-yard drive that would see him cap it with an eight-yard TD grab with 33 seconds left in the third. They would then take that 28-20 advantage and add to it in the fourth.
 
After forcing a miss on a 32-yard field goal attempt the Bulldogs' Eaglin would do damage with 32 yards of his own, including a third touchdown on a three-yard shovel pass with 8:20 to play. B-CU would then drive down the field, covering 44 yards on 12 plays, but it would be that last play that would be the difference as Douglass stepped in front of a pass for his second interception of the year.
 
While A&M's next possession wouldn't go beyond three plays, having the ball killed a potential scoring drive and took nearly two minutes off the clock. The Wildcats would get the ball back with two-and-half minutes remaining and would pull off a 38-yard strike from Jones to Corey Reed to setup a one-yard TD plunge from Byrd.
 
That cut it to what would be the eventual final margin of 35-27 with 12 seconds left but it would be too little, too late as their onside kick attempt would go nowhere, locking up the eight-point victory for Alabama A&M.
 
THE STATS – BETHUNE-COOKMAN
Jones erupted for B-CU as he went 24-of-38 for 353 yards and a touchdown under center and added 55 yards and a score on the ground while Byrd had a pair of TDs. Averett snagged a pair of 30-yard receptions among his four grabs to finish with a game-high 83 yards and Lee wasn't far behind with five catches for 71 yards. Riley would round out the offense with his third quarter touchdown.
 
Amarie Jones went off on defense, registering 10 tackles, two for loss, a sack and a forced fumble while Rosendo Louis recorded 11, seven solo, with one for loss. Devunta Hampton added a pair of TFLs and Mason Hall finished with five tackles, one for loss.
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs stay at home after being road warriors for much of the season as they host Grambling on Saturday, October 8. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Louis Crews Stadium.
 
NOTES
Official attendance for Homecoming 2022 was 18,750 … the game was just the second between the programs and first in Huntsville … the teams met last year in Daytona Beach, Florida with the Bulldogs pulling out a 30-27 last second victory in the rain and on ESPNU.