Miami Gardens, Florida-The 2022 football season for Edward Waters finally gets underway on Saturday afternoon in South Florida as the Purple & Orange will lock up with rival Florida Memorial in the 2nd Annual "Big Cat Classic".
GAME INFORMATION:
Edward Waters (0-0, 0-0 SIAC) vs. Florida Memorial (0-0, 0-0 TSC)
Saturday, August 27th
Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex | Miami Gardens, Florida
Kickoff: 3:00pm EST
Weather: 89°° Cloudy, 55% Chance of Rain, Wind: ESE 9mph
GAME NOTES
https://www.ewutigerpride.com/d/EWC_Football_Game_Notes_vs__FMU.pdf
SERIES HISTORY:
Ninth All-Time Meeting (Florida Memorial 5, Edward Waters 3)
1945: FMC 8, EWC. 7
1950: EWC 19, FMC 13
1952: FMC 31, EWC 24
1954: FMC 12, EWC 7
1955: FMC 13, EWC 7
1956: EWC 24, FMC 14
1957: FMC 39, EWC 20
2021: EWU 24, FMU 20
COACHING MATCHUP:
Edward Waters: Toriano Morgan, 1st Season (4-7)
Florida Memorial: Bobby Rome, II. 1st Season at FMU (0-0)
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV: HBCU League Pass +
Radio: Edward Waters Sports Network (mixlr.com/EWUSportsNetwork) | Play-By-Play: Joshua C. Jackson
PREVIEWING EDWARD WATERS:
2022 marks the 72nd season of Edward Waters University football as a varsity sport, and the 22nd year since the rebirth of the program in 2001.
Head Coach Toriano Morgan begins his second season as head coach of the Tigers after finishing 4-7 in 2021, the team's highest win output since the 2016 season. The Tigers are still looking for their first winning season on the gridiron since the 2004 SEAC Championship season, when they went 8-4.
LOOKING FOR RESPECT: The Purple & Orange are not only looking for respect within themselves but also from their peers in the SIAC. EWU was picked to finish sixth in the East Division of the SIAC. Additionally, the Tigers were the only SIAC member to not have a single player selected on the Preseason All-Conference team.
QUANDRY AT QUARTERBACK: The EWU quarterback room is full of talent and experience for the upcoming season. The Tigers passing attack ranked 7th in the SIAC, averaging 165.9 yards per contest. Dual incumbent starters Sophomore QB Cedquan Smith and Graduate QB David Johnson each return for the Purple & Orange in 2022. Johnson led the Tigers in passing, going 82-143 passing, had a 55.4 completion pct, for 1,124 yards, 14 TDs, and three INTs. Smith went 61-105 passing, had a 58.7 completion pct, for 676 yards, 3 TDs, and five INTs. Joining Smith and Johnson is Senior Alcorn State transfer QB Jyron Russell. Russell has been impressive in fall camp and has certainly made a case for the starting role this season.
WITH A WIN: The Purple & Orange will start the season 1-0 for the second consecutive season.
COMING HOME: 32 Tiger natives of the South Florida area (Palm Beach, Broward, & Miami-Dade Counties) will get an opportunity to play in their own backyard.
NEW LOOK DEFENSE: Head Coach Toriano Morgan made a change over the offseason, replacing former Defensive Coordinator Joseph Carter with Mike Spencer, who served as Linebackers Coach last season for the Ti-gers. Spencer has installed a 4-2-5 defensive scheme this season for the "Darkside Defense" that is expected to drastically improve EWU's efforts on that side of the ball. Last season, the Tigers ranked seventh in the SIAC in total defense (21.5 ppg), but ranked 10th in total defense, allowing 333.0 ypg. The passing defense ranked dead last in the conference last season, allowing 197.0 yards to opponents through the air.
PREVIEWING FLORIDA MEMORIAL:
The Lions are also looking to find their footing in this, their third season of the revived program after a 61-year hiatus. Florida Memorial finished 2021 2-9 overall and 1-5 in Mid-South Conference Sun Division play.
FMU will join their other varsity sports in The Sun Conference as they have picked up the sport of football for the first time in history.
FMU is also looking for respect as they were selected tied for dead last in the TSC preseason rankings along with Webber International, who they beat for their second win of the season last year.
The Lions last season took their lumps, averaging just 18.00 points per game while surrendering 31.55 to their opponents. FMU did have a balanced offensive attack, averaging just under 300 yards per game (148.5 on the ground, and 150.27 passing).
All-MSC Sophomore RB George Young makes his return after a solid freshman campaign that saw him rush for 83.3 yards per game, 4.8 yards per carry, and five rushing TDs. Sophomore QB Antoine Williams is also back for FMU this season. Last year, he finished 47-91 passing, had a 51.65 completion pct, had 595 yards passing, and three touchdowns in five apperances.
Defensively, FMU features star linebacker in sophmore Joshua Mimms. Mimms led FMU with 79 (44 solo and 35 assisted). The Fort Pierce, Florida native also registered 7 tackles-for-loss along with an interception, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. He also had two games with 10 or more total tackles, including a 10-tackle day in Florida Memorial's 41-17 win over Union College (Ky.).
Florida Memorial will have a new man in charge in 2022 as former Central State and Virginia University of Lynch-burg head man Bobby Rome II takes the reigns in Miami Gardens. Rome lasted seven games at CSU before resigning. At VUL, Rome spent two seasons at VUL, where he was named the 2018 Small College Sport Report National Coach of the Year.
Follow the Tigers
For complete coverage of Edward Waters University Athletics, follow the Tigers on social media @EWU_Athletics (Twitter), /EWUTigers (Facebook) and @EWU_Athletics (Instagram) or visit the official home of Edward Waters Athletics at EWUTigerPride.com
