Rattlers

Chesapeake Bayhawks entered Saturday's Major League Lacrosse game in dire need of a confidence boost. They found just what they were looking for in Rochester. Facing a winless foe that was playing for the first time since replacing its head coach, the Bayhawks jumped to an early four-goal lead, then held on in the second half for a 13-11 win before an announced 8,410 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Brian Phipps, a rookie out of Maryland who tallied a career-high 21 saves, said the effort came after a team meeting about commitment following last weekend's lopsided loss to Boston.

Backup goaltender Mike Gabel put forth one of the finest performances of his seven-year professional career to anchor a strong defensive effort as the Rochester Rattlers knocked the Chesapeake Bayhawks from the unbeaten ranks with a 12-8 victory in front of an announced 7,853 on Saturday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Gabel, a backup appearing in just his fourth game for Rochester, recorded 27 saves to stymie a Chesapeake offense that scored 23 goals against the Ohio Machine the previous Saturday night.

The Chesapeake Bayhawks successfully played the part of defending Major League Lacrosse champions in their season opener against visiting Rochester Saturday, finding breathing room in the closing minutes of the third quarter and dominating from there for a 14-10 win over the Rattlers. An announced crowd of 7,916 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis saw the Bayhawks get goals from nine different players with Ben Rubeor and Brian Carr oll leading the way with three goals each.

Chesapeake Bayhawks entered Saturday's Major League Lacrosse game in dire need of a confidence boost. They found just what they were looking for in Rochester. Facing a winless foe that was playing for the first time since replacing its head coach, the Bayhawks jumped to an early four-goal lead, then held on in the second half for a 13-11 win before an announced 8,410 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Brian Phipps, a rookie out of Maryland who tallied a career-high 21 saves, said the effort came after a team meeting about commitment following last weekend's lopsided loss to Boston.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Morgan State was a homecoming guest for the fifth time this season and couldn't have had worse timing.Florida A&M, coming off a stinging loss last week, has been trying all season to build some momentum. In front of 27,132 at Bragg Stadium, the Rattlers did it with room to spare, routing the Bears, 55-6, yesterday.The Rattlers scored 41 first-half points and coasted, as Travis Green came off the bench to pass for three touchdowns and run for one.The Bears fell to 0-9 and 0-4 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - There was no hiding the fact that Florida A&M was having a hard time putting its Gulf Coast Offense into gear. For 29 of the 30 minutes in the first half against Morgan State last night, the Rattlers' offense was clearly out of sync. "Give Morgan State credit," said FAMU head coach Billy Joe. "They played a nearly flawless game and we struggled," though, in the end, the Rattlers earned a 21-12 win. Dropped passes, overthrown balls, two turnovers and just 66 yards of offense by FAMU helped Morgan State (0-2)

Morgan State was hoping to take a step last night toward a respectable finish to a rough season, but the Florida A&M Rattlers, led by sophomore quarterback Albert Chester II and senior running back Rashard Pompey, refused to let that happen. Chester produced 202 net yards of offense, completed 14 of 16 passes and rushed for two touchdowns, while Pompey rushed for 101 yards and a score, as the Rattlers put away Morgan State, 27-16, last night before 3,429 at Hughes Stadium. Morgan State (2-7 overall, 1-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Last year, former Morgan State coach Ricky Diggs demanded an apology from Florida A&M coach Billy Joe for running up the score in the Rattlers' 47-9 homecoming victory. He didn't get it.Good thing Diggs wasn't around yesterday.Florida A&M 83, Morgan State 12.It was as much of a rout as the score indicates -- the typical homecoming blowout taken to a new height.It was the Bears' fifth consecutive loss after a promising 3-0 start. But it was the way Morgan State lost that brought back memories of the days of being the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference doormat and ideal homecoming opponent.

Despite a no-goal outing from Mikey Powell, the Bayhawks' balanced offense used a fourth-quarter spurt to beat the Rochester Rattlers, 22-13, at Johnny Unitas Stadium yesterday. After an assist on the first goal, Powell was held scoreless. Rattlers defender Michael Howley marked Powell, frustrating the crafty attacker into committing five turnovers and sending five shots wide. But with Howley focused on Powell, the Rattlers' zone was compromised, creating wide-open opportunities for the Bayhawks' midfielders.

The big question entering last night's Major League Lacrosse game at Homewood Field was which Bayhawks team would show up against the Rochester Rattlers. Would it be the team that dominated all phases of the game in its season-opening 16-13 win over Long Island, or the team that stumbled to consecutive road losses last weekend? The 4,762 fans in attendance saw both versions. While the Bayhawks struggled during a couple of stretches, they were at their best when it mattered most as they registered a come-from-behind 13-12 win over the Rattlers (1-2)

The Chesapeake Bayhawks successfully played the part of defending Major League Lacrosse champions in their season opener against visiting Rochester Saturday, finding breathing room in the closing minutes of the third quarter and dominating from there for a 14-10 win over the Rattlers. An announced crowd of 7,916 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis saw the Bayhawks get goals from nine different players with Ben Rubeor and Brian Carr oll leading the way with three goals each.

Philip Sylvester rushed 19 times for 202 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as Florida A&M beat Morgan State, 31-17. Sylvester scored for the Rattlers (5-3, 4-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) on a 14-yard run with 5:09 left in the first half, putting them ahead 17-3. Morgan State (4-4, 3-2) tied the game at 17 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jephte Cherenfant in the third quarter and a 19-yard touchdown pass from Delonte Williams to Chuka Okakpu early in the fourth. But Williams was intercepted by Jerral Stewart with 7:17 left, and the sophomore defensive back returned it 37 yards for a touchdown, giving the Rattlers the lead for good.

Reggie Holmes scored 18 points and top seed Morgan State rolled to a 71-41 win over Florida A&M (10-21) last night in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C. Seeking their first MEAC championship since 1977, the Bears (21-11) advanced to tomorrow's semifinals, where they will face the winner of today's Coppin State-North Carolina A&T quarterfinal. Holmes made seven of 17 from the field and recorded nine rebounds. Jermaine "Itchy" Bolden scored 12 points and had six assists, while Marquise Kately added 10 points for the Bears.

If past performance is any indication, Towson's football team is in for good fortune when it travels to Delaware on Saturday for a key Atlantic 10 game. The 5-2 Tigers are unbeaten in three road games, winning at nonconference Elon, at Hofstra with a thrilling comeback engineered by quarterback Sean Schaefer, and at Villanova last weekend. They are only .500 at Johnny Unitas Stadium, although the quality of the opposition (nationally ranked Maine and Massachusetts handed them the losses)

As Matt Ward signed autographs on the sideline after his first career Major League Lacrosse hat trick last night, he was faced with an uncommon question. "Where'd you go to school?" a woman asked the Bayhawks attackman, who is less than two weeks removed from winning the national championship with Virginia. The final four most valuable player and Tewaaraton Trophy winner took it in stride. It was his first home game with the Bayhawks, and maybe introductions were necessary. But they no longer should be, as Ward's three goals and rookie goalie Greg Havalchak's 17 saves led the Bayhawks to a 14-9 win over the Rochester Rattlers in front of 3,431 at Johnny Unitas Field.

Morgan State was hoping to take a step last night toward a respectable finish to a rough season, but the Florida A&M Rattlers, led by sophomore quarterback Albert Chester II and senior running back Rashard Pompey, refused to let that happen. Chester produced 202 net yards of offense, completed 14 of 16 passes and rushed for two touchdowns, while Pompey rushed for 101 yards and a score, as the Rattlers put away Morgan State, 27-16, last night before 3,429 at Hughes Stadium. Morgan State (2-7 overall, 1-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)

BOSTON -- They're back. Not that the Bayhawks were absent from Major League Lacrosse's championship game for very long. They missed it for the first time in the league's five-year history last year. But, having dispatched the Rochester Rattlers, 20-13, in a semifinal at Nickerson Field last night, the Bayhawks were happy to have made it to their fourth title game -- a showdown tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. with the Long Island Lizards, who defeated the Boston Cannons, 19-14, in the other semifinal.

IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. - They had to shrug off the effects of a nine-hour bus ride, a six-point halftime deficit and, perhaps, a certain amount of complacency. But once they did, the Bayhawks made it look easy, outscoring the Rochester Rattlers 14-1 during the final 22 minutes and walking off with an 18-11 Major League Lacrosse victory last night before 4,214 at Bishop Kearney High School. Player-coach Gary Gait, Mikey Powell and Tom Marechek each scored three goals, with Gait adding three assists, to keep the Bayhawks (4-0)

BOSTON -- They're back. Not that the Bayhawks were absent from Major League Lacrosse's championship game for very long. They missed it for the first time in the league's five-year history last year. But, having dispatched the Rochester Rattlers, 20-13, in a semifinal at Nickerson Field last night, the Bayhawks were happy to have made it to their fourth title game -- a showdown tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. with the Long Island Lizards, who defeated the Boston Cannons, 19-14, in the other semifinal.