NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tennessee State’s Geremy Hickbottom accounted for 97 yards and a touchdown from scrimmage in three possessions, helping Team Gather beat Team Robinson 22-6 in the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl on Saturday.
Hickbottom passed for 72 yards and rushed for 25, including a 3-yard touchdown dash around the right end.
Bowie State running back Calil Wilkins turned a short pass from Chowan’s Bryce Witt into a 12-yard touchdown and Norfolk State quarterback Juwan Carter added a 7-yard touchdown run for Team Gaither.
The teams were named for two of the most prominent former head coaches at historically Black colleges and universities: Grambling’s Eddie Robinson and Florida A&M’s Jake Gaither.
Southern receiver Marquis McClain caught seven passes for 84 yards for Team Gaither.
Hickbottom, who played for Grambling in the spring of 2021 before transferring over the summer, passed for 1,847 yards and rushed for 261 net yards in 10 games for Tennessee State last fall. He started the Legacy Bowl and drove his unit into field goal range on the opening series, but Virginia Union kicker Jefferson Souza sailed his 51-yard field goal attempt wide left.
Wilkins opened scoring when he caught a pass from Witt in the right flat and ran around the right end.
Extra points were kicked from the NFL distance (snapped from the 15-yard line and kicked from about 33 yards). Souza missed his first and Team Gaither led 6-0 at halftime.
Witt, who came on to start the second quarter and led another series in the fourth quarter, was 15 of 21 for 131 yards. He completed seven of eight passes for 66 yards on the touchdown drive. This season, Witt passed for 2,864 yards and 31 TDs in 10 games for Division II Chowan.
Teams started each quarter with fresh possessions.
Souza gave Team Gaither a 9-0 lead with a 21-yard field goal set up by Fort Valley State receiver Sehmar Bridges’ fumble after a short pass on which he went to the ground to make the catch, but then got up and ran — an allowable move in this exhibition designed to largely follow NFL rules.
Bowie State linebacker Wesley Bowers forced the fumble on the Team Robinson 29. Virginia State defensive end Javon Frazier scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the 3.
After team Gaither took a 15-0 lead on Carter’s keeper, Souza again missed the extra point.
Prairie View A&M quarterback Juwan Pass put Team Robinson on the board with a 1-yard run. But yet another extra point kick failed, this one by Benedict’s Rigoberto Tinoco.
After Hickbottom’s touchdown run in the fourth quarter, Souza hit the extra point kick on his third try for the final score.
The game was the brainchild of former NFL quarterbacks Doug Williams and James “Shack” Harris, who both played at Grambling. Their goal was to improve exposure for top Black college players to pro scouts during a week of activities that included meet-and-greets at a downtown hotel and practices.
Top HBCU players from college football’s FCS level and Division II were invited to play.
Several prominent NFL players showed their support. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took part in the pre-game coin toss. Saints left tackle Terron Armstead was among the dignitaries on the sideline.