GREENSBORO– The MEAC kicked off this weekend with a lot of questions about who might survive the gauntlet run to the Celebration Bowl. Bethune-Cookman (6-4) visited North Carolina A&T (7-3) with both teams sharing a slice of first place in the conference. The Aggies quickly took all of the pie with a convincing 47-17 win over the Wildcats.
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Jah-Maine Martin entered the day poised to overtake Tarik Cohen’s single-season touchdown rushing mark and he wasted no time. On his second touch of the game, he rumbled 66-yards to give the Aggies the lead. For good.
The Aggies took their second possession of the game after a Bethune-Cookman fumble, and Martin tied Cohen’s record with a four-yard score, his eighteenth rushing touchdown this season.
NCAT would push the lead to 20-0 in the second quarter when William Simpson came in to bulldoze his way into the endzone scoring on a six-yard play.
Wildcats Respond
Bethune-Cookman got on the board before the half with a one yard run from Ladderrien Wilson followed later by a field goal for the 20-10 halftime score.
The Aggies pushed the lead to 16 in the third quarter when Kashon Baker scored on a 36-yard touchdown from Jalen Fowler.
BCU seemed to still have a shot in the fourth quarter but the Aggies just mashed the gas on the visitors. Fowler connected with Elijah Bell on a 22-yard slant to make it 33-10.
The Wildcats would put their final score on the board when Akevious Williams rushed for a nine-yard score with 12:16 remaining to make it 33-17.
Record-setting day
Jah-Maine Martin put his name in the record books later in the quarter with his third touchdown of the day, breaking Cohen’s record. That score made it 40-17, and Baker gave us the final 47-17 score with his second touchdown of the day.
The Aggies now have sole possession of first place in the MEAC at 5-2, while Bethune-Cookman slips back to 4-3. Florida A&M is not eligible for postseason play this year despite being unbeaten in the MEAC.