Branche, Defense Power Spartans Past Aggies 23-14
Game Stats
NORFOLK, Va. - Senior running back DeAngelo Branche rushed a career-high 38 times for 170 yards and a touchdown to earn Norfolk State MVP honors, and the Spartans' defense held the North Carolina A&T defense to 156 total yards in a 23-14 NSU victory in the 63rd annual Fish Bowl Classic on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.
The win evens the Spartans' record at 1-1 on the season, 1-0 in the MEAC. The Aggies fall to 0-2, 0-1 MEAC.
Branche was the workhorse for the Spartans, besting his career high in carries by eight and missing the school record by five. He missed his career high in yardage by just 11 yards.
But it was quarterback Chris Walley who got NSU off to a quick start. After the Spartan defense held A&T three-and-out on the game's first possession, Walley engineered a six-play, 80-yard drive on NSU's first possession. Walley completed all four of his passes for 69 yards on the opening march, hitting junior Victor Hairston for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 11:16 left in the first quarter. It was Walley's first career TD pass at NSU and Hairston's first receiving score as a Spartan.
Branche capped a 10-play, 68-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter to give the Spartans a 13-0 edge. The extra point attempt by Ryan Estep missed wide left.
The Spartan defense continued to stifle the Aggies, but an NSU miscue got A&T on the board. On the Spartans' next possession, a high snap from center resulted in a fumble, which A&T's Brandon Hover returned 9 yards for a touchdown to cut the Spartans' lead to 13-7 with 11:29 left in the half.
Read the complete story at NSUSpartans.com.
Hampton Uses Strong Second Half to Get By Howard
Game Stats
Washington, DC-September 11-Howard and Hampton traded punches early in the game, each using time-consuming drives, but in the end, the Pirates were able to pull away by reeling off 24 unanswered points to defeat the Bison, 31-21 in a MEAC game at Greene Stadium before an overflow crowd of 7,086.
Howard (0-2, 0-1 in the MEAC) came out smartly, driving 64 yards in nine plays, using almost five minutes off the clock to take the early 7-0 lead. Junior Casey Council, who started at quarterback, capped off the drive with a 15-yard run.
Hampton (1-1, 1-0 in the MEAC) countered with a long drive of its own, a 17-play, 80-yard marathon that used 8:32 on the clock. Senior running back Steve Robinson, who led all rushers with 86 yards, did most of the damage and rewarded his efforts with a one-yard plunge.
The Bison embarked on a another mini drive, this time a 13-play, 64-yard trek that ate up almost seven minutes off the clock. Junior tailback Terrence Leffall went the final two yards to give Howard a 14-7 lead.
The Bison looked to be in good shape if they could keep the Pirates out of the end zone with just 2:46 left on the clock. But Hampton made quick work of their possession and took just 1:13 to travel 60 yards in five plays to tie the score at 14-all. The big play came on a 28-yard hookup between David Legree (13 of 25 pass, 133 yards, 2 TDs; seven carries, 62 yards) and Dyrin McCalin.
Read the entire story at Howard-Bison.com.
Elmore Leads SC State to 44-0 Victory Over Mississippi Valley State
Game Stats
ORANGEBURG, SC-- Sophomore wide receiver Lennel Elmore had a career-night with 12 catches for 156 yards, breaking former All-MEAC standout Tavarus Morgan record for Total Receptions in game. While, SC State cruised to an 44-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State Saturday night at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
Senior quarterback Malcolm Long tied Reese Mc Campbell record for Most Career Passing Attempts throwing 21-28 for 232 yards and one touchdown. Long now has 707 for a career.
The Bulldogs jumped out early 14-0 in the first quarter with senior running back Chris Massey breaking loose for a 28-yard scamper to make the score 7-0 at the 12:48 mark. Massey found the end zone once again on a five yard punch to put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 with 10:08 left in the quarter.
Junior kicker Blake Erickson's 25-yard field goal with 3:41 left in the first-half gave SC State a go ahead score of 17-0. Long's six yard toss to sophomore running back Devin Wherry with 0:58 seconds left closed out the first-half with the Bulldogs leading 24-0.
Read more at SCSUAthletics.com.
Maryland builds 45-point lead en route to 62-3 win against Bears
Game Stats
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Morgan State never found an offensive rhythm tonight, but Maryland never seemed to lose theirs.
Maryland's offense was nearly perfect in the first half against Morgan State, in the first gridiron meeting between the two schools.
Jamarr Robinson was 6-for-14 for 70 yards and two touchdowns before being replaced in the second quarter by Danny O'Brien who threw three touchdowns, helping the Terps run up a quick 45-point lead before calling in the reserves in a 62-3 romp over Morgan State on Saturday night.
Maryland (2-0) scored on its first three possessions, with Robinson tossing touchdown passes to Torrey Smith (5 yds) and Adrian Cannon (19 yds), and Travis Baltz hit a 47-yard field goal to give the Terps a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Donovan Dickerson had one of the roughest nights of his collegiate career. The sophomore completed 7-of-28 passes for 48 yards and threw two picks, one of which was returned by Demetrius Hartsfield for the first score of the second quarter. Maryland reserve quarterback O'Brien tossed three touchdowns in just four pass attempts to push the lead to 45-0 by halftime.
Read the entire story at MorganStateBears.com.
NCCU Rallies For Fourth Quarter Lead, WSSU Scores Late for 34-27 Win
Game Stats
DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University rallied back from a 20-6 deficit to take a fourth quarter lead, but Winston-Salem State University intercepted a pass in the end zone with less than two minutes left and scored the game-winning touchdown just 25 seconds later for a 34-27 victory in front of 9,711 fans inside NCCU's O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.
WSSU (3-0) gained a 20-6 advantage on a 50-yard pass play from Kameron Smith to Dominique Fitzgerald with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter.
Just when it appeared that the visiting Rams had total control of the game, NCCU sophomore Arthur Goforth returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, equaling the third-longest kickoff return in school history.
After a defensive stop by the Eagles, NCCU senior running back Tim Shankle capped a five-play, 66-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown scamper. Frankie Cardelle's extra-point kick evened the score at 20-20 just four seconds into the final stanza.
The NCCU defense held the Rams to a three-and-out on the following possession and the WSSU punt pushed the Eagles back to their own 7-yard line. On NCCU's first play from scrimmage, a school record 93-yard touchdown run by senior running back Tony McCord capped a 21-0 run to give the Eagles a 27-20 at 12:09 of the fourth quarter.
WSSU answered the challenge by converting on a fourth-down-and-12 play with a 27-yard connection from Smith to Tevin Brantley, giving the Rams a first down from the Eagles' 2-yard line. On the next play, Smith found running back Tyrone Goldson for a touchdown to tie the score at 27-27 with 8:22 left in the contest.
Read the complete story at NCCUEaglePride.com.
Hornets Fall to Rattlers in MEAC Opener
Game Stats
Dover, Del. - Martin Ukpai threw two touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score in the third quarter, to lead Florida A&M to a 17-14 win over Delaware State in the MEAC opener for each team at Alumni Stadium this evening.
The Rattlers improved to 1-1 overall, while the Hornets fell to 0-2.
Delaware State pulled ahead 12-10 when Jaashawn Jones capped off a 5-play, 56-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 12:24 left in the third quarter. The big play in the drive was a 34-yard pass from Anthony Glaud to Larrone Moore to the Florida A&M 4-yard line. Anthony Glaud ran for two points on the conversion to give the Hornets a 14-10 lead.
The Rattlers needed just two plays on the ensuing possession to regain the lead. Ukpai connected with Brian Tymes on a 50-yard scoring pass to give the Rattlers a 17-14 lead with 11:23 left in the third quarter.
Read the entire story at DSUHornets.com.
FVSU Rallies Past Tigers
Game Stats
MACON, Ga.- Savannah State led by 10 points after the first quarter, but could not hold off Fort Valley State as they rallied with 41 unanswered points in a 41-10 victory in the 8th Music City Classic played at Henderson Stadium, before a crowd of 4,182.
It was the 50th time the teams have met and the Wildcats now have a 35-11-4 series lead.
SSU scored all their points in the opening quarter as Cedric Chambers returned a interception 21 yards for a touchdown with 10:42 on the clock and Derek Williams kicked a 43 yard field goal with 4:36 remaining.
The Wildcats cut their deficit to 10-6 with a pair of field goals from Justin Rosenbaum from 29 and 27 yards.
With 2:36 left in the half, Dominique Patterson returned a interception 48 yards for a touchdown to give FVSU a 13-10 lead.
Click SSUAthletics.com to read more.