ABOVE VIDEO:Florida Tech head coach Steve Englehart talks about the Panthers’ game against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday In Daytona. SEE STORY, PHOTOS AND VIDEO BELOW
SpaceCoastDaily.com Will Provide On-the-Scene Video Updates and Social Media CoverageDuring the Game
Bethune-Cookman 34, Florida Tech 33 (FINAL)
ABOVE VIDEO:Quarterback Mark Cato talks about going for the win on a two-point conversion.
• BETHUNE-COOKMAN – WILLIAMS,Q. pass complete to BROWN,Frank for 29 yards to the FIT0, 1ST DOWN BCU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 12:01. (FIRST QUARTER)
• FLORIDA TECH – Mark Cato pass complete to Xavier Milton for 79 yards to the BCU0, 1ST DOWN FIT, TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:46. (FIRST QUARTER)
• BETHUNE-COOKMAN – JORDAN,Anthony rush for 5 yards to the FIT0, 1ST DOWN BCU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 09:46. (SECOND QUARTER)
• BETHUNE-COOKMAN – JORDAN,Anthony rush for 22 yards to the FIT0, 1ST DOWN BCU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:50. (SECOND QUARTER)
• FLORIDA TECH – Mark Cato pass complete to Aaron George for 22 yards to the BCU0, 1ST DOWN FIT, TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:39. (SECOND QUARTER)
• FLORIDA TECH – Mark Cato pass complete to Aaron George for 15 yards to the BCU0, 1ST DOWN FIT, TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:50. (THIRD QUARTER)
• FLORIDA TECH – Brion Ashley field goal attempt from 41 GOOD, clock 07:13. (THIRD QUARTER)
• FLORIDA TECH – Brion Ashley field goal attempt from 39 GOOD, clock 10:55. (FOURTH QUARTER)
• BETHUNE-COOKMAN – WILLIAMS,Q. rush for 27 yards to the FIT0, 1ST DOWN BCU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:18. (FOURTH QUARTER)
• BETHUNE-COOKMAN – WILLIAMS,Q. pass complete to BROWN,Frank for 67 yards to the FIT0, 1ST DOWN BCU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:25. (FOURTH QUARTER)
• FLORIDA TECH – Mark Cato pass complete to Tyler Bass for 43 yards to the BCU0, 1ST DOWN FIT, TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:19. (FOURTH QUARTER)
Panthers’ Upset Bid Falls Short At Bethune-Cookman, Will take On Delta State Next Week
By Ryan Jones
DAYTONA FLORIDA – Tyler Bass hauled in a 43-yard touchdown pass with 19 seconds left in the game to draw the Panthers within one point of Bethune-Cookman at 34-33.
Florida Tech elected to go for the two-point conversion to take the lead, but Mark Cato was intercepted in the end zone to bring the Panthers’ upset bid just short Saturday night at Larry Kelly Field at Municipal Stadium.
A pack of Panthers bring down the Bethune-Cookman ball carrier. (Florida Tech image)
The Panthers struggled to gain traction on offense early in the game, allowing the Wildcats to jump out to a 20-7 lead with 2:50 remaining in the first half.
FIT was able to draw close with 39 seconds left in the half as Cato hit Aaron George for a 22-yard touchdown reception to send the Panthers into the half down just six.
That proved to be an important moment in the game as the Panthers were able to string together 17-straight points, capped by a pair of Brion Ashley field goals, to take a 27-20 lead with 10:55 remaining in the game.
Mark Cato
Following a Cato fumble, quarterback Quentin Williams evaded pressure and busted up the middle from 27 yards out for a touchdown to tie the game at 27 apiece.
Trevor Sand fumbled on the Panthers’ next possession and B-CU capitalized as Williams found a streaking Frank Brown for a 67-yard touchdown connection.
The score gave the Wildcats the 34-27 advantage, setting up Bass’s late-game heroics that fell just shy.
For the third week in a row Cato set a new career-high in passing yards, collecting 310 yards and four touchdowns in the affair. Xavier Milton once again led the Panthers in receiving, collecting 101 yards and a score on four catches, with George chipping in another two touchdowns. Sand was the primary rusher for FIT, garnering 68 yards on 12 carries.
Aaron George hauls in his second touchdown grab of the day. (Florida Tech image)
The defense was menacing for the Panthers, meeting the Bethune-Cookman ball carriers in the backfield often and delivering a number of crushing tackles. Andrew Adair and J.J. Sanders led FIT with nine tackles each. Chris Stapleton seemed to live in the Wildcat backfield, recording two sacks of the B-CU quarterback, with Adair adding a sack of his own.
Williams was a huge playmaker for the Wildcats, totaling 222 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He added 31 yards and another score on the ground. Anthony Jordan found his way into the end zone twice on the ground, while Frank Brown added two receiving scores.
FIT will look to bounce back quickly as the Panthers will take on No. 12 Delta State on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. ET at Pirate Stadium in Melbourne. That game is a WHITE OUT, with fans encouraged to wear white to the game.
The matchup with the Statesman is the GSC-TV Game of The Week, presented by Florida’s Space Coast. A live video broadcast of action in Melbourne will be available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
A live radio broadcast of Thursday’s game will be available on the new Official Radio Partner of the Panthers, WFIT 89.5 FM, with Jerry Durney and Paul Van Scott calling the game. Season and individual game tickets remain for FIT’s four remaining home games. Tickets are available by calling 321-674-6228 or stopping by the Clemente Center Ticket Office Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
GAME PREVIEW: Panthers Take On Div. I FCS 14th Ranked Bethune-Cookman
Things are at an all-time high for the Florida Tech football program as the Panthers are coming off a victory over No. 12 Tarleton State at AT&T Stadium and the Panthers head to Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida to do battle with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.
Trevor SandMark Cato
Trevor Sand was a wrecking ball in the FIT backfield against Tarleton State, bouncing off would-be tacklers on his way to a school-record 152 yards and three touchdowns.
Mark Cato continued his impressive start to his career at FIT, connecting on 24 of 37 passes for a career-best 296 yards and two scores. Nearly half of those completions went to Xavier Milton, who hauled in 10 receptions for 139 yards. Gabe Hughes was the other Panther pass-catcher to top the century mark, totaling 104 yards on just three catches.
Steve Englehart
“It’s a great opportunity for us to play a Division I FCS opponent here in the state of Florida,” head coach Steve Englehart said. “It’s a great opportunity for our young men and it’s a challenge that they’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. Bethune-Cookman is a very good FCS program, Coach Jenkins has done an unbelievable job with that program over the last several years. They’ll be a potential playoff team again this year. They are fast and physical, we’ll certainly have our hands full on Saturday.”
J.J. Sanders returned to action for the Panthers with a fury. The Columbus, Ohio native was seemingly all over the field, recording a team-high 12 tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss, the most in FIT history.
J.J. Sanders
The junior linebacker also made arguably the biggest play of the game, forcing a late fumble that allowed the Panthers to seal the victory.
Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton put forth his usual workman-like effort, bringing in 12 tackles and a fumble recovery to bolster the FIT defense. The Panthers also recorded a pair of interceptions in the game, with Manny Abad and Tyler Rosenblatt doing the honors.
The Wildcats are coming off of a 41-7 pounding at the hands of UCF in Orlando. BCU took an early 7-3 advantage before allowing 38 straight points by the Knights.
Quentin Williams was the Wildcats’ top-performer in the game, passing for 102 yards on 9 of 12 passing, while also adding 32 yards on the ground. On the season, Bethune-Cookman is 2-1 with victories over Florida International and Grambling State.
The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 14 in Division I FCS.
With the exception of this Saturday’s contest, FIT football games can be heard on the Panthers’ new Official Radio Partner WFIT 89.5 FM. Jerry Durney and Paul Van Scott will start Saturday’s broadcast with a pregame show at 3:30 p.m. All remaining eight Panther games, including the Bethune-Cookman game, can also be heard at WFIT.org and the free TuneIn Radio app.
Jerry Durney
SpaceCoastDaily.com will provide on-the-scene video updates and social media coverage during the game.
Live video and stats for Saturday’s action can be found HERE. To access the live video stream of the game, fans will need a one-day pass to BCU’s CatEye Network, which can be purchased for $7.95.
Fans can keep up with Florida Tech football by following the team’s social media accounts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/FLTechFootball, on Instagram at http://instagram.com/FLTechFootball and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/floridatechfootball.
