The 19th Annual Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic, will go down in the record books as one to remember as Tennessee State’s Eric Benson missed a 27-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the game, to give the Florida A&M Football Rattlers an 18-17 win Saturday afternoon at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
FAMU (2-2) struggled offensively in the first half, only mustering 156 yards of total offense on 36 plays, compared to the Tigers’ 237 yards of total offense on 28 total plays.
TSU (2-3) scored on their first possession of the game, as QB Antonio Heffner lofted a 55-yard TD pass to Troy Smith, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 12:05 remaining in the first quarter.
FAMU would then cut into TSU’s lead on a 33-yard field goal by Wesley Taylor with 4:35 left to go in the first, leaving the Rattlers trailing 7-3.
The Tigers increased their lead to 14-3 on a Heffner one-yard quarterback sneak to close out the first quarter with 38 seconds remaining.
FAMU would then make the score 14-5 on a safety resulting from a bad snap past TSU QB Antonio Heffner into the end zone. Heffner chased the ball, kicking it out of the end zone for the safety, with 11:15 left in the first half.
The FAMU resurgence would begin in the second half, with an 83-yard punt return by freshman Qier Hall for a TD with 2:17 remaining in the third. A missed PAT by Taylor would trim the TSU lead to 14-11.
The Rattlers would then take the lead on a Leon Camel nine-yard TD run, giving FAMU a 18-14 lead, with 2:59 left in the third period.
Benson would cut the Rattlers’ lead to 18-17 on a 19-yard field goal with 12:15 to go in the game.
After both teams offenses stalled in the final stanza, the TSU defense would force FAMU to punt with less than a minute remaining in the game.
The Tigers would them mount a final drive from their own five-yard line, as Heffner connected with Ronald Evans on a 25-yard completion, then found Chris Johnson for a 55-yard gain, to give TSU the ball on the Rattlers’ five-yard line, with nine seconds left in the game.
A false start by TSU would move the ball back to the FAMU 10-yard line, then after a FAMU timeout to ice the kicker, Benson would then miss a 27-yard field goal for the 18-17 final.
FAMU was led by Philip Sylvester with his third 100-yard plus performance of the season, finishing with 131 yards on 25 carries.
Javarris Williams led the TSU ground attack with 87 yards on 19 carries, while Heffner the Tigers air attack, by completing 12 passes in 22 attempts for 309 yards, and one TD.
Chris Johnson finished with three receptions for 77 yards to lead TSU’s receivers.
Defensively, the Rattlers were led by Carlos Rolle with nine tackles (3 solos, 6 assisted). Both Curtis Holcomb and Cameron Houston finished with eight tackles apiece. Larry Williford and Nashon Bigham, led the TSU defense with eight tackles.
The Rattlers continue, their three-game road swing, as they travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to take on soon-to-be Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member, Winston Salem State in the Coca-Cola Circle City Classic, at the RCA Dome, broadcast live on the NFL Network.