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NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State hosts Florida A&M this Saturday for the Spartans' 2013 Homecoming game. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium.
The Spartans will be looking to move over .500 in MEAC play against the Rattlers, a team NSU has not faced since 2010.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
NSU dropped its third straight game in dramatic fashion last Saturday, falling to cross-town foe Old Dominion, 27-24. The Monarchs' Jarod Brown kicked the game-winning 24-yard field goal as time expired to cap a thriller. The Spartans rallied from a 17-3 second-quarter deficit by scoring 21 unanswered. Malik Stokes – the third Spartan quarterback to see action against ODU – threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to help NSU take a 24-17 lead early in the fourth. But ODU scored the game's final 10 points to spoil NSU's upset bid. Stokes passed for 87 yards and rushed for 38 while accounting for two touchdowns. Rolandan Finch, the MEAC's leader in total rushing yards, rushed for 97 and added 36 receiving yards.
Finch has a conference-best 687 rushing yards and is second in the league at 85.9 rushing yards per game. He also ranks third in the MEAC with 105.4 all-purpose yards per game. Tight end Joseph Hawkins is seventh in the MEAC with 29 receptions (3.6 per game). After recording his second straight double-digit tackle game with 11 last week against ODU, junior linebacker Marcell Coke is now tied for sixth in the MEAC with 76 tackles. Sophomore linebacker/end Deon King continues to pace the MEAC and ranks second in the nation with 15.5 tackles for loss.
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
Florida A&M lost its second straight ballgame last Saturday in a 20-13 overtime decision to North Carolina A&T in Tallahassee. Tarik Cohen ran for 210 yards and three touchdowns for N.C. A&T, including the game-winning 8-yard scoring run in overtime. It appeared as though the Rattlers were going to pull out the win in a low-scoring affair when
Damien Fleming found Dewayne Harvey on an 8-yard TD pass with 19 seconds remaining, capping a 96-yard scoring drive. That tied the game at 13-all, but FAMU's Chase Varnadore missed the extra point, sending the game into overtime. The Aggies got the ball first in OT and scored on Cohen's third TD. FAMU had the chance to answer, but Fleming was intercepted by Isaiah Martin to end the game.
The Rattlers were outgained 274-179, including 256-57 on the ground. FAMU's other touchdown came on Shaun Ward's 17-yard interception return in the third quarter.
Like NSU, the Rattlers have struggled on offense this year. Fleming, the MEAC Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year, is averaging just 112 yards per game through the air and has been intercepted 12 times. FAMU is last in the MEAC in total offense, averaging just 218.8 yards per game.
THE SERIES
• FAMU leads the series with NSU 12-1. The Spartans' only win was a 33-27 victory at FAMU in 2007.
• The Rattlers are 6-0 against NSU all-time at Dick Price Stadium.
• FAMU's last four wins at NSU have been by a total of 13 points.
QUICK HITS FROM ODU
More news and notes from the loss to Old Dominion last week:
• NSU lost its third straight game, all by 10 points or less.
• The Spartans scored on their first drive of the game on a 24-yard fi eld goal by Cameron Marouf, marking the first time NSU has scored in the first quarter all year.
• DeAndre Sangster caught his first career TD pass, a 23-yarder in the second quarter.
• Marcell Coke led NSU with 11 tackles, marking the first time in his career he has had double-digit tackles in back-to-back games. He had 14 against Hampton the previous week.
• QB Malik Stokes notched his first career TD run on a 2-yard sneak in the fourth quarter.
• Keenan Lambert had a 62-yard punt return on his first career return. It was the longest special teams return for NSU this year.
• RB Rolandan Finch had 133 all-purpose yards (97 rushing, 36 receiving), his fifth game of the year with at least 100 all-purpose yards.
• LB/DE Deon King matched his career-high with three tackles for loss.
• NSU's defense surrendered a 100-yard rusher for the second straight week (ODU's Gerard Johnson with 101) after allowing just one in the first six games.
• NSU's final scoring drive - capped by Stokes' 2-yard TD run - took 19 plays, 80 yards and 8:42 off the clock, the longest for NSU this season in all three areas.
• Safety Brandon Walker got his first career start, which came at free safety.
OTHER APPROACHING MILESTONES
Several Spartans are approaching career and season milestones:
• RB Rolandan "Deuce" Finch is just 33 rushing yards away from 2,000 for his collegiate career. He had 1,280 in his career at Boston College and has 687 this year for a total of 1,967 so far.
• Finch is also 313 yards shy of 1,000 for the season. He is looking to become just the seventh back in NSU annals to top that mark.
• WR Derrick Demps is three receiving yards shy of 1,000 for his career. He has 72 catches for 997 yards and six TDs in his career.
• Head coach Pete Adrian is one win shy of 50 during his NSU tenure.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE
For the third straight game, tight end Joseph Hawkins had exactly five receptions, one shy of his career high. That extended his streak with at least one reception to 21 straight games. The two-time All-MEAC pick leads the team with 29 catches (seventh in the MEAC) and 283 receiving yards.
