MEAC football recap - Week 8
Tuesday, October 27, 2009A brief look at games from elsewhere in the MEAC.
Delaware State 35, Morgan State 22
DOVER, Del. - Delaware State scored a season-high five touchdowns, including one on defense, in a 35-22 MEAC win over Morgan State before a homecoming crowd of 5,327 at Alumni Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the MEAC. The loss ended a five-game win streak for the Bears, who fell to 5-2 and 3-1.
Delaware State's previous high score this season was 21 in a victory over Hampton (21-6) on Sep. 26.
DSU's Jaashawn Jones rushed for a career-high 107 yards on 17 carries, including a four-yard touchdown run, to lead the Hornet offense.
Delaware State quarterback Anthony Glaud completed 16 of 26 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in his return to action after missing last week's loss to Michigan due to an injury.
Morgan State opened the scoring when a punt by Delaware State's Nick Lochner was blocked out of the endzone for a safety with 7:37 left in the first quarter.
The Bears stretched their lead to 5-0 when true freshman Kemar Scarlett tied a MEAC record with a 55-yard field goal with 4:44 left in the opening quarter.
Howard 19, North Carolina A&T 30
WASHINGTON, DC -Dontavius Payne rushed for a career-high 113 yards and two touchdowns, Martin Mayhew added two more rushing TDs and North Carolina A&T took advantage of Howard University special teams miscues en route to a 30-19 win in a MEAC game at Greene Stadium before an overflow homecoming crowd of 7,086.
The Bison (2-5 overall, 0-4 in the MEAC) got on the board first after a special teams mistake by North Carolina A&T gave Howard good field position at midfield. It took the Bison six plays with Andra Williams capping it off with a twisting seven-yard run at the 8:05 mark.
The Aggies (5-3 overall, 3-2 in the MEAC) countered on their first possession of the second quarter when they put together a nine-play, 80-yard drive. Mike Mayhew scored his first TD of the game from five yards out to tie the score at 7-7 with 12:43 left in the second period.
The Bison appeared to assume control of the game, capping off two short drives with field goals of 30 and 33 yards to take a 13-7 lead to the locker room.
But the second half proved to be a disaster for the Bison special teams. Howard made a mental error on a kickoff that shifted the momentum and set the tone for the second half.
Florida A&M 34, Norfolk State 20
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Senior quarterback Curtis Pulley turned in another star performance Saturday, leading the Florida A&M Rattlers to a 34-20 victory over Norfolk State in the 2009 homecoming game at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
FAMU (5-2, 3-1 in MEAC) piled up 402 yards of offense, highlighted by Pulley's 358 total yards, which featured 185 yards rushing (on 17 carries) and one TD, plus 173 passing yards (13 of 22) and two TDs
The talented youngster from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, tossed a one-yard scoring pass to Mykel Benson capping the game's opening drive with 10:47 in the first quarter, then later extended the Rattler lead to 31-13 with 4:16 left in the second period on his scintillating 51-yard TD run, the longest run of his FAMU career.
Norfolk State (3-4, 2-3 in MEAC) hung tough against the Rattlers, tying the score at 7-7 on their first possession of the game on a one-yard plunge by halfback Josh Alford with 8:10 left.
Pulley led another FAMU drive in the opening stanza, a 55-yard march that ended with a 22-yard field goal by Trevor Scott with 2:59 to play, putting the Rattlers ahead for good at 10-7.
Junior tailback Philip Sylvester, who has been slowly recovering from an ankle injury, raced into the end zone from 22 yards out with 14:51 left in the second quarter, boosting the Rattler edge to 17-7, before fullback Mykel Benson snared a Pulley pass and rumbled 30 yards for a score with 6:56 left to extend the FAMU lead to 24-7.
Pulley's 51-yard TD gallop right before the half closed the Rattlers' scoring for the first half at 31-13.
Winston-Salem State 16, Bethune-Cookman 10
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Winston-Salem State Rams stopped the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on the one yard-line with 19 seconds remaining to preserve a 16-10 win. The Rams edged the Wildcats (2-5) on B-CU's homecoming for the second straight time since 2007 at Municipal Stadium.
Following a scoreless first quarter of play, the Wildcats entered the scoring column first following a Androse Bell one-yard touchdown run at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter.
The Rams wasted no time answering the Wildcats as Kevin Dorsey recovered a B-CU fumble at the 12-yard line, setting the table for quarterback Jarrett Dunston and the WSSU offense.
Two plays later the Rams scored their first points as Dunston found Dominique Fitzgerald in the end zone, connecting on a 12-yard touchdown pass to close the deficit to only one point.
A failed Landen Thayer extra point attempt rendereded a 7-6 lead for the Wildcats heading into the halftime locker room.
Bethune-Cookman answered on their first drive of the second half as Kory Kowalski's 31-yard field goal closed an 11-play, 57-yard drive that increased the Wildcats' lead to four, 10-6.
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