ORLANDO, Fla. — Phillip Sylvester scored three touchdowns as Florida A&M beat previously undefeated Bethune-Cookman 38-27 to grab a three-way share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship on Saturday.
The Rattlers' (8-3, 7-1) victory, before a crowd of 61,712 at the 31st Florida Classic, won their sixth straight. Bethune-Cookman (10-1, 7-1), which clinched a tie for the title a week ago, earns the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs because of the conference's tiebreaker policies.
South Carolina State (9-2, 7-1) also shares a third of the league title.
Florida A&M, which dominated both offensively and defensively in the second half, has now won three straight Florida Classic games.
Sylvester rushed for 146 yards on 26 carries, scoring on runs of 9, 1 and 3 yards.
"Wow, am I excited!" said Sylvester, who mentioned he had "never ever" scored three times in a game before. "We were really clicking in the second half. We had a championship to play for, and we never lost sight of that."
It was Sylvester's sixth straight 100-yard game and his seventh of the season. He finished the season with 968 yards on 170 carries.
He was well supported by the passing of Austin Trainor, who threw for 261 yards and a touchdown by completing 19 of 38, with two interceptions.
First-year Bethune-Cookman coach Brian Jenkins, who team blew a 27-14 halftime lead, was obviously disappointed by not disheartened.
"I'm upset that we lost, but I'm not gonna hang my head," he said. "This team came a long way in a short time. We've had a great season, we won the MEAC and we're going to the playoffs.
"I'm really proud of this team, especially with the way we fought after we lost our quarterback (Matt Johnson, dislocated shoulder) early in the third quarter."
Johnson, named earlier in the week as the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year by the league, had completed 11 of 16 passes for 209 yards before going down.
Joe Taylor, Florida A&M coach, was excited about his team's comeback.
"We played disciplined football in the second half," he said. "Defense wins championships, and we came up big defensively in the second half."
After allowing the Wildcats 313 first-half yards, the Rattlers limited Bethune-Cookman to only 119 in the second half.
Trailing 27-14 at halftime, Florida A&M used three scores in the third quarter to take a 31-27 lead.
The Rattlers maneuvered for 30-yard Trevor Scott field goal, then forced a fumble by Bethune-Cookman's Jonathan Moment, which the Rattlers recovered near midfield.
Four plays later, Sylvester scored from the 14. Scott's PAT closed the Wildcat lead to three, 27-24. Then Sylvester's 38-yard run to the Bethune-Cookman 2 yard line to set up Lavante Page's 1-yard run to put the Rattlers ahead, 31-27. The Rattlers added points near the end on Sylvester's 3-yard run.
The Wildcats scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to erase a 14-6 A&M first-quarter edge.
Androse Bell scored from 1-yards away at 12:58 to culminate a nine-play, 81-yard drive. Isidore Jackson's 2-yard dive at 4:56 of the second quarter completed a 66-yard march in 10 plays. That one gave Bethune-Cookman the lead at 19-14.
The Wildcats used a 35-yard pass from Johnson to Eddie Poole to close out the first-half scoring. Johnson and Poole hooked up on a 2-point conversion pass that produced the 13-point halftime difference, 27-14.
The Rattlers had scored first. After a 47-yard pass from Austin Trainor to Kevin Elliott set A&M up on the B-CU nine, Phillip Sylvester scooted across on the next play at 12:58 of the first quarter.
Bethune-Cookman countered at 4:56 when Johnathan Moment crossed from the one to conclude an eight-play, 69-yard drive. Kory Kowalski missed the extra-point kick -- his first of two straight misses -- leaving the Rattlers up by 7-6.
Florida A&M followed at 1:22 of the first period with Trainor's 10-yard scoring pass to Antonio Lawrence. It was the eighth play of a 60-yard drive, upping the margin to 14-6.