Philip Sylvester ran 23 times for 130 yards to lead the FAMU Rattlers to a 17-13 victory over Norfolk State on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.Sylvester scored on a 4th quarter TD which capped a 13-play, 98-yard drive that proved to be the difference, sending the Spartans (2-5, 1-4 MEAC) to their fourth straight loss in front of a homecoming crowd of 21,118, a season high.
Turnovers played a key role in the first half, which ended with a 10-10 deadlock. NSU kick returner Dwight Fluker-Berry fumbled the opening kickoff handing the ball to the Rattlers DeAndre Mitchell on the Spartan's 11 yard line. The Rattlers went three and out and had to settle to a filed goal to take a 3-0 lead just 1:51 into the contest.
After an NSU punt, the Rattlers (4-3, 3-1) drove into Spartan territory trying to add to their lead. But Martin Ukpai’s pass was intercepted by Dante Barnes, who returned it 68 yards for an NSU touchdown with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter.
Later, Ukpai fumbled a handoff turning the ball over to the Spartans. Ten plays later, Ryan Estep drilled a 41-yard field goal with 7:07 left in the second quarter, stretching NSU’s lead to 10-3.
But FAMU tied the score just before half. Ukpai helped engineer a seven-play, 85-yard drive, which he capped with a 1-yard TD run just 17 seconds before halftime. Scott’s extra point tied the game at 10-all. The scoring march was aided by a 39-yard reverse pass from Antonio Lawrence to Kevin Elliott.
The Spartans regained the lead on their second possession of the second half. Estep kicked a 26-yard field goal to cap an 11-play, 31-yard drive.
The Spartans outgained FAMU 346-307, but couldn’t find the end zone on offense. NSU completed 11 of 16 passes for 140 yards and ran for a season-high 62 on 11 carries.
You can get the complete game stats here