Southwestern Athletic Conference emerges victorious

By Mekhi Abbott 
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Head Football Coach Willie Simmons holds the 2023 Celebration Bowl trophy inside of the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. FAMU successfully defeated the Howard University Bison with a final score of 30-26 on Dec.16.
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Southwestern Athletic Conference

The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Rattlers defeated the Howard Bison in the Cricket Football Celebration Bowl on Dec. 16. Delivering a final score of 30-26, the Rattlers left Atlanta with their first ever Celebration Bowl victory. 

The Bowl, also known as the “Black National Championship,” started off with a bang when Howard University graduate student Ian Wheeler returned the opening kickoff 63 yards, not being tackled until he reached FAMU’s 27-yard line. Four plays later, the Bison sprinted out to an early 7-0 lead against the Rattlers. 

“I honestly didn’t expect to kick me the ball because their kicker has a good leg. But once I saw it in the air, I knew I had to show out. It’s always awesome being able to put our team in position to score to start off the game,” said Wheeler.

After linebacker and fellow graduate student Christian White strip sacked FAMU quarterback Jeremy Moussa causing him to fumble the ball, the Bison were able to recover the ball once again in FAMU territory. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Champions took advantage of the turnover and executed a six play, 37-yard touchdown drive to go up 14-0. 

The Bison went into halftime with a 16-10 lead after FAMU’s kicker Cameron Gillis kicked a field goal with 11 seconds left in the second quarter. 

A relatively quiet third quarter saw both teams score zero points, but the fourth quarter was full of action. FAMU flipped the momentum, scoring on their first possession to start off the final quarter after Moussa threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Dean. With that score, they were able to take their first lead of the game, 17-16. In their very next possession, Moussa and Dean connected on another deep ball, this time for 53 yards. The Rattlers led the Bison 24-16. 

After kicking a field goal to break FAMU’s 17-0 scoring run, Bison defensive back Carson Hinton jumped a screen pass thrown by FAMU’s Moussa and returned it 27 yards for a defensive touchdown. The Bison retook the lead 26-24. 

However, the Rattlers didn’t take long to respond. The 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Offensive Player of the Year’s deep ball was connected on Dec. 16 and Moussa was able to throw another pass for a touchdown, this time to wide receiver Jah’Marae Sheread for 38 yards to put the Rattlers in the lead 30-26.

The Bison had two more offensive possessions in the fourth quarter to try and respond, but both drives resulted in interceptions thrown by senior quarterback Quinton Williams. After starting the game off with a pedestrian first half performance that resulted in an interception thrown, a fumble and a safety, FAMU quarterback Moussa made the big throws when it mattered the most in the second half. He finished with 289 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and a fumble. Williams finished with 106 passing yards, 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. FAMU’s Dean was named the 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl’s Offensive Most Valuable Player (MVP). 

Despite 56 points being scored, the 2023 Celebration Bowl proved to be a defensive matchup. FAMU’s “Dark Cloud” defense held Howard to only 187 total offensive yards, which is a record for the least amount of yards put up by an offense in Celebration Bowl history. Nine of the 26 points that Howard put up were scored by the defense via the pick-six by Hinton and a 2-point safety caused by Howard defensive lineman Darrian Brokenburr. The offensive touchdowns scored by the Bison were set up by special teams and a fumble caused by the defense. FAMU’s senior linebacker Isaiah Major took home Defensive MVP honors after securing what proved to be the game-sealing interception for the Rattlers. Major was also named the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year at the conclusion of the regular season.

Tiffany-Dawn Sykes, FAMU’s vice president and athletic director is the first female athletic director to win a Celebration Bowl. Sykes forged a strong relationship with star linebacker Major. 

“My vision for FAMU Athletics is for every student-athlete to graduate with a degree in one hand and a championship ring in the other. THIS is what it’s all about! Congratulations Isaiah Major!” Sykes wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to Major thanking FAMU for his overall collegiate experience in being able to get a degree, earn a SWAC Championship and be named a 2023 Black College Football National Champion. 

The season proves to be a historic one for both programs. This was both FAMU and Howard’s first time going to Mercedes Benz Stadium to play in the Celebration Bowl.  FAMU clinched its first ever SWAC football championship just a couple weeks ago after defeating the Prairie View A&M Black Panthers, 35-14. FAMU finished their season 11-1, going an undefeated 8-0 against SWAC opponents. The Rattlers started off their season by knocking off Jackson State, who were the then reigning 2-time SWAC Champions. After losing their second game of the season to in-state opponent University of South Florida, FAMU would run the table and not lose a single game for the rest of the season. 

“My vision for FAMU Athletics is for every student-athlete to graduate with a degree in one hand and a championship ring in the other. This is what it’s all about!”

FAMU is only in its third season as a SWAC school after leaving the MEAC in 2020. Prior to that, FAMU had a 15-year run as a MEAC program and was a part of the conference for over 35 years in total. This year, FAMU became the first school in NCAA history to win a conference title in the SWAC, MEAC and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in football. Each of the three respective conference’s member schools are composed entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). 

FAMU continues to add to their legacy as one of best football programs in all of HBCU football history. FAMU is the only HBCU program to ever win a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National title. FAMU also boasts four college football Hall of Famers and over 60 players who have played in the National Football League, including current starting middle linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, Markquese Bell from the class of 2021. 

Despite the 4-point loss, the Bison still had a season to remember. They finished their season with at least a .500 record (6-6, 4-1 MEAC) for the first time since 2017. They also won the MEAC outright and qualified for their first bowl game in thirty years. Some of their season highlights include a 30-point blowout victory against the then 7th-ranked (FCS) team in the nation North Carolina Central Eagles and a very close 23-20 loss against the Northwestern Wildcats. The Wildcats are a Power 5 program that have a record of 7-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten, one of the most challenging and competitive conferences in all of college football.

Some notable names amongst the crowd at the Celebration Bowl included Vice President and Howard alumna Kamala Harris, former NFL MVP Cam Newton and his younger brother, former Bison quarterback Caylin Newton. Actor Lance Gross from Howard University’s class of 2024 was also in attendance.

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