Devan James ran for 19 of his team-high 73 yards in overtime to help setup a 23-yard game-winning field goal by James Meade as the Bears held off Howard 36-33 Saturday at Hughes Stadium before a record crowd of 14,987.

Meade, the Week 6 MEAC Special Teams Player of the Week, connected on 3-of-4 field goals and improved to 11-of-16 for the season.

With the win, Morgan improved to 4-3, and 3-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, while the Bison remain winless in the conference (2-4, 0-3).

Howard had a chance to put up the first points of overtime, but failed to get a first down on three straight plays. On fourth-and-13 from the Morgan 17, Howard placekicker Dennis Wiehberg missed a 34-yard field goal.

It was Morgan State’s first overtime win of the season, and it marked the second time the Bears have handed an overtime loss to Howard. On Oct. 14, 2006, Morgan State beat Howard 18-12 at Greene Stadium in Washington D.C.

Morgan State started the afternoon with something new. The Bears scored on their first drive of the game, something that had not happened this season.

On third-and-18 from the Morgan 24, Byron Selby dropped back and hit Chad Simpson on a screen pass, and Simpson did the rest. The senior eluded a number of defenders and raced 84 yards to pay dirt. Meade’s extra point gave Morgan a 7-0 lead.

Simpson, who came into the game ranked fifth in the nation in rushing, was held to 15 yards on 13 carries before leaving the game with a sprained ankle.

“We are three or four deep at tailback,” said Selby. “We lose something when he’s out of the game, but we have one of the finest rushing attacks in the conference.”

Selby finished with one of his best performances of the season, completing 11-of-20 passes for a game-high 216 yards. Morgan’s offense had another stellar outing as they churned out 430 total yards, 276 passing.

The Bears returned to the scoreboard mid-way through the 1st quarter when Meade connected on a 38-yard field goal to give MSU a 10-0 lead.

Howard answered by scoring the next 17 points.

The Bison got a boost from its special teams when Martin Decembert returned the ensuing kickoff 61 yards before being corralled at the 21 by Gary Albury. The Bears were penalized for hitting Bison quarterback Brian Johnson out of bounds to help setup a 10-yard quarterback draw for a score.

Howard took the lead on its next possession when Karlos Whittaker took a handoff and exploded over left guard for a 46-yard touchdown run. Howard led 14-10 (7:19) and extended its lead to 17-10 when Wiehberg hit a 34-yard field goal with 3:38 to go in the first quarter.

Morgan State finished the first quarter scoring bonanza when Selby directed an 8-play, 69 yard drive capped by a 2-yard plunge by Simpson, his 10th rushing touchdown of the season.

Johnson capitalized on an encroachment by Morgan’s defense and ran what amounted to be a free play, connecting with Michael Harper for a 32-yard touchdown (8:55). Wiehberg’s extra point sailed wide.

Trailing 23-17, Morgan would go on to score 10 unanswered points. Mario Melton led a 68-yard drive that chewed up almost 5 minutes of clock before hitting fullback Justin Lawrence for a touchdown.
Meade matched his season-high with a 43-yard field goal to give Morgan a 26-23 advantage at the intermission.

The two teams failed to put up any points in the third quarter as the defenses began turning up the pressure.

Morgan looked as though they had broken the game open midway through the 4th quarter when James took an off-tackle run and turned it into a 35-yard touchdown dash. That made it 33-23 with 8:20 to go.

Trying to answer Morgan’s score, Johnson conducted a time-consuming 11-play drive capped by a 21 yard field goal by Wiehberg (3:30). Following a 3-and-out by the Bears’ offense and a 19 yard punt into the wind by Thomas Beese, Howard started their final drive in great field position at the Morgan 33. Five plays later, Johnson hit J. Williams for a 12-yard touchdown strike to help send the game into overtime, tied 33-33.

Morgan State’s defense slowed down a Howard passing game that came in averaging 194.4 yards, but limited the Bison to just 103 yards. Lamar West led the Bears defense with nine tackles and a sack, while Kofi Nkrumah and Jarrel Guyton combined for 12 tackles. Kendell Jackson and Darren McKahn both finished with an interception apiece.

The Bears will face first-place Delaware State in a showdown next week in Dover, Delaware.