TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Alabama A&M (0-4, 0-0 SWAC) held a 12-point lead in the first half but could not weather 31 unanswered points as Florida A&M (2-2, 1-0 SWAC) rallied for a 38-25 victory in an NCAA Division I football game and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opener on Saturday, September 24.
 
THE STATS - ALABAMA A&M
Junior quarterback Xavier Lankford (Pelham, Ala.) was a threat through the air and on the ground as he went 18-of-28 for 180 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions and notched 81 yards on 11 carries to pace the Bulldogs.
 
Senior wide receiver Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim (Miramar, Fla.) hauled in six catches for 49 yards and senior wide receiver Cameron Young (Daphne, Ala.) came away with the lone receiving touchdown on the day. In the backfield, graduate running back Gary Quarles (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and sophomore running back Donovan Eaglin (Houston, Texas) each found the endzone to round out the offensive performances.
 
Junior punter Troy Lendvay (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) anchored special teams as he drove five punts for 197 yards, including two for fair catches, one for 50-yards and three that were planted inside the 20-yard line.
 
THE GAME
After allowing just three plays and negative six yards on FAMU's opening possession, the Bulldogs would take over on the offensive end at the 42-yard line. They would then go six plays and all 42 of those yards, 29 on a catch down the sideline by junior tight end Bryson Clark (Delray Beach, Fla.) and the last two on a dive into the endzone by Quarles at the 9:42 mark.
 
Trailing 7-0, the Rattlers second time with the ball was about as successful as the first – three plays for negative five yards – and set up a second score for Alabama A&M. Getting the ball on their own 42, they worked their way down to the FAMU 29, extending the drive on a 3^rd and 4 on a shovel pass to senior tight end Kendric Johnson (New Market, Ala.), before freshman kicker Zach Alvarez (Hialeah, Fla.) banged through a 35-yarder for a 10-0 lead at 4:38.
 
Florida A&M would finally gain traction on their next possession and would benefit from a penalty for too many men on the field on a missed field goal. They would take that new life and turn it into a one-yard touchdown run by Terrell Jennings with 14:03 showing on the clock in the second quarter. The drive covered 80 yards in a span of 4:11 and pulled the Rattlers to within 10-7.
 
It wouldn't take long for the score to change again, however, and this time it would be on the defensive side of the ball. Pinned at their own two-yard line courtesy of a 33-yard punt from Lendvay, FAMU's Jah'Marae Sheread could not get out of his own endzone, being brought down for a safety that stretched it to 12-7 at the 10:10 mark.
 
Neither team could get anything going over the next several possessions until A&M took over at their own 30-yard line with 3:23 left in the half. Highlighted by a 64-yard scramble by Lankford down to the five-yard line, that drive would hit paydirt as Eaglin went in from one yard out to push to a 19-7 advantage.
 
Far from done, the Rattlers answered with a 20-yard touchdown strike from Jeremy Moussa to Xavier Smith with 15 seconds left in the half, sending the clubs to the break with the score at 19-14.
 
Building off that momentum heading into the locker room, FAMU marched 60 yards down field on nine plays on their second possession of the third quarter. That would be a drive that would once again be capped by Moussa connecting with Smith, this time from 10 yards out to take their first lead of the day at 21-19 with 8:29 on the clock.
 
Things would continue trending the Rattlers' way as they would squelch A&M's next drive after just seven plays as Nadarius Fagan stepped in front of a Lankford pass to give them the ball right back. It would take just 36 seconds for Florida A&M to capitalize as Jaylen McCloud took it in from six yards out to make it a two-score game at 28-19 with just under five minutes left in the period.
 
FAMU would then add on a field goal from Jose Romo-Martinez at the 13:54 mark of the fourth and another strike from Moussa to Smith, this time from two yards out, to extend to 38-19 at 10:01. The Bulldogs would snap that stretch of 31 unanswered points with a 29-yard rifle by Lankford to Young with 34 seconds to play. Following a failed two-point attempt, the Rattlers put the finishing touches on the 38-25 victory.
 
THE STATS – FLORIDA A&M
Moussa anchored the offense for FAMU as he went 22-of-40 for 323 yards and three touchdowns – every single one of them to Smith who finished with eight grabs for 97 yards. Sheread added seven catches for 138 yards and Jennings had a score and 59 yards on the ground and McCloud found the endzone for the other score on the day.
 
Defensively Isaiah Major delivered an impressive 13 tackles, nine solo and one for loss, and Fagan and Javan Morgan each had interceptions. Gentle Hunt, Kamari Stephens and Stanley Mentor each produced a sack and Eric Smith added seven tackles to round out the top performers.
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to the friendly confines of Louis Crews Stadium on Saturday, October 1 and plan to bring a bunch of their friends with them as Homecoming 2022 has arrived. They will take on Bethune-Cookman at 2 p.m.

NOTES
The full and complete boxscore was not available at press time. It will be added here when it is made available.