Heishma Northern’s head-coaching debut turned sour Sunday as he went through three quarterbacks in a 63-14 route to the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in the 2011 MEAC/ SWAC Challenge at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
In a game that featured six turn- overs, including two interceptions by senior quarterback Jonathon Troast, offensive woes haunted Northern’s squad from beginning to end. Wide Receivers Deandre Cooper and Spencer Nelson both fumbled less than two minutes apart. The Panthers fumbled the ball four times, three of which the Wildcats re- turned for touchdowns.
Despite freshmen linebacker Jerome Howard’s four-tackles in first quarter, the Panthers managed to give up 42 unanswered points in the first half, including 28 in the second quarter.
The Panthers did receive a spark from Cooper at the end of the first half, as he scored an 11-yard touchdown on a short screen pass from Troast.
Redshirt freshmen Jerry Lovelocke made the most of his playing time in the second half, as he scored on a seven-yard quarterback-keeper.
Despite giving up 63 points, the Pan- thers displayed a solid rushing attack led by junior running back Jermaine Waddy who carried the ball four times for 44 yards and accumulated 125 all-purpose yards. Nelson also recorded 92 all-purpose yards, including three receptions for 60 yards.
Northern said, “Most people would probably think I’d just want to jump from a building after a loss like this, but in reality, this loss was a wake-up call for my guys. We understand that other teams will now under- estimate us, so that will make us play with a little more fire in our bellies.”
The Panthers must recover quickly from their blowout against BCU as they pre- pare to take on cross-town rival Texas Southern at Delmar Stadium Saturday, Sept. 10.