The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

LAST weekend’s win was a bounce back game for the Florida State Seminoles and provided the first opportunity for Bahamian tight end Mavin Saunders to have an impact on the field.

Saunders caught a 12-yard reception, his first of the season, in the No.13 ranked Seminoles’ 55-35 win over the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium.

The win improved the Seminoles to 3-1 and got them back in the win column after a 63-23 upset on the road against the Louisville Cardinals.

After seeing action sparingly in the first three games of the season, Saunders saw increased minutes against USF, but remains second on the depth chart behind Ryan Izzo.

Midway through the third quarter, Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois connected with Saunders on a second down play to give FSU a first down. They would eventually score a touchdown on the 10- play, 95-yard drive to go ahead 45-14.

Saunders was the only FSU tight end with a reception, and Francois completed just 11-19 passes on a day dominated by the Seminoles’ rushing attack.

Florida State was dominant on the ground against USF and finished with 478 yards on 63 carries led by Dalvin Cook’s career-high 267 yards. Cook also set a career-high with 329 total yards.

The Seminoles return home to face the North Carolina Tar Heels on October 1, in a game broadcast live on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

Saunders, headed into his redshirt sophomore season with the Florida State Seminoles this fall, was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Academic Honour Roll.

The Orlando Sentinel’s Brendan Sonnone outlined the impact he expects Saunders to have on the Seminoles and its tight end group this season.

“Saunders’ development should be fun to watch, simply because any improvement he makes should be noticeable given how raw he is. Coach Jimbo Fisher is very high on Saunders and thinks he can evolve into a dynamic receiving threat.

“As productive as Nick O’Leary was for FSU, he wasn’t a true downfield threat, but Saunders’ athleticism could enable him to be a matchup nightmare all over the field,” he said. “Working on becoming a more polished blocker is going to be big for Saunders so the staff can feel comfortable using him in every situation. On top of that, he must also come down with more 50-50 passes and take full advantage of his athletic gifts.”

Saunders, the 6’5” 258-pound redshirt freshman tight end and Bimini native, has appeared in six games last season before being relegated to the sidelines due to a nagging back injury. In the season opener, he caught a single pass for five yards. His best game of the season was the first start of his collegiate career, when he finished with three receptions for 26 yards – both career highs – in the Seminoles’ 29-24 win over in-state rival, the University of Miami Hurricanes.

In other Division I football highlights from the weekend, other Bahamian players saw their teams emerge with wins in their respective conferences.

Kato Fawkes and his Idaho Vandals scored a 33-27 win over the UNLV Rebels, one that Vandals head coach Paul Petrino called one of the most special of his career.

“Just where this programme is, where we need to get. That’s as proud of a group of guys as I’ve ever been around,” he said.

Fawkes, now in his post graduate season, appears in a reserve role for the Vandals behind starting guards Noah Johnson and Mason Woods.

The 6’4” 303-pound guard, a native of Freeport, Grand Bahama, graduated in May while he saw his first official game time as a member of the Vandals. In the 2014 season, he was sidelined with an injury and redshirted.

The Vandals completed the three-game road trip at Washington, at Washington State and at UNLV, before returning to the Kibbie Dome for Homecoming against Troy on October 1.

In the American Athletic Conference, Chris Ferguson and the Cincinnati Bearcats improved to 3-1 with a 27-20 win over Miami (Ohio). In the Colonial Athletic Association, Rondre Knowles-Tener and the James Madison Dukes won 31-20 over Maine Black Bears.