HBCU plays its final game with a heavy heart for its fallen teammate

The Alabama A&M University Bulldogs traveled to Tallahassee to take on the Florida A&M Rattlers (FAMU) in a makeup game postponed due to Category 4 Hurricane Helene, which struck east of Tallahassee, Florida on September 26th Original date of September 28th was postponed The recent death of HBCU football player Medrick Burnett Jr. was heavy on the hearts of players, coaches and fans.

Burnett died Wednesday from injuries sustained at the Magic City Classic on Oct. 26 in Birmingham. He was pronounced dead by the Jefferson County deputy coroner Wednesday evening at UAB Hospital.

At just 20 years old, the loss was an even greater loss for such a young and talented student-athlete.

The Bulldogs rolled into Tallahassee, clearly distracted by the events of the two days leading up to Friday’s game. Nowhere was it more evident than with head coach Connell Maynor.

“I’m just glad these young men were able to play today. The last 48 hours have been extremely difficult. It was really hard hearing the news that Medrick had passed away, then learning that he hadn’t passed away, and finally getting the final news that he had passed away. I applaud our team for even wanting to play this game at this time,” Maynor said.

The HBCU community showered Alabama A&M with an outpouring of love. During the fourth quarter, the FAMU announcer called for a moment of silence to recognize Medrick Burnett, Jr. You could hear a pin drop at Bragg Stadium as fans paid their respects.

The game drew over 10,000 fans for an after-Thanksgiving game that could have been even sparser. With temperatures in the 50s, drizzling rain during the game and the biggest shopping day of the year, the crowd was impressive considering most students had returned home to celebrate the holidays with their families.

FAMU would earn a 28-20 win in the final game of the season and finish with a record of 7-6 (5-3 SWAC). AAMU would finish the season 6-6 (4-4 SWAC).

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