Morgan State 38, Howard 20

Washington, DC, Oct. 19--Morgan State running back T. Stallings rushed for a career-high 206 yards and five touchdowns to lead Morgan State University to a 38-20 win over Howard University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at Greene Stadium before an overflow homecoming crowd of 13,500.

The Bison (3-3 overall, 1-2 in the MEAC) had the homecoming crowd excited when it opened the game with a 79-yard bomb from senior quarterback Donald Clark to junior wide receiver Jonathan Brewer with just 20 seconds off the clock. Howard missed its PAT attempt but still led, 6-0.

The resurgent Bears (3-4 overall, 2-2 in the MEAC) were not impressed as they coolly responded by going 38 yards on four plays with Stallings taking it the final six yards to give Morgan State a lead it would not relinquish.

The Bears extended their lead to 14-6 after capitalizing on one of Howard's four lost fumbles. Stallings scored again, this time from four yards out.

Howard matched the Bears temporarily as it went on a well executed, 14-play, 84-yard drive that consumed almost six minutes. The drive was capped off on another hookup between Clark and Brewer, this time from 25 yards out. The Bison again failed to convert on the PAT attempt and trailed, 14-12 with 3:08 remaining in the first period.

The Bison turned the ball over again on their next possession, but the defense held and Morgan State had to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Jon Voroshilin and took a 17-12 lead into halftime.

The Bears came out on their first possession of the second half and established what they wanted to do: feature Stallings in the second half. On the first drive of the second half, Morgan State went 80 yards on only eight plays--all running plays--with Stallings accounting for all but 20 of the yards.

It was only fitting that Stallings (who else?) cap off the drive with his third TD of the day.

But the Bison still had some fight and refused to quit as they responded by going 64 yards on eight plays. Junior running back Jay Colbert capped off the drive with a twisting, eight-yard run, closing the deficit to 24-20 after a two-point conversion on Clark to Kevin Simmonds pass.

The Morgan State defense stiffened on the Bison's next possession and took over on downs.

Stallings scored his fourth TD of the day on a four-yard run that all but sealed the deal with 1:53 remaining.

His final TD from 20 yards out nine seconds later was for the record books.

The Bison, who out-gained Morgan State on offense, 406-397, have only to look at all the blown opportunities. On at least nine occasions, Howard receivers got behind the Morgan State secondary, only to have Clark over thow or under throw them. On the day, Clark missed on 26 of his season-high 41 pass attempts and was sacked five times.

The defense played well for the most part, despite giving up 293 yards on the ground. But the four lost fumbles by the offense and missed opportunities were too much to overcome.

Injuries continue to mount for Howard as freshman punter and place kicker Vaughn Waters suffered a knee injury and appears done for the season. He joins a long list of players on the growing injury list.

The loss overshadowed an outstanding effort from Brewer, who caught a career-high six passes for 151 yards and 2 TDs. Senior linebacker Tracy White (6 solos, 3 assists) and senior defensive tackle Charles Woodall (7 solos, 3 assists) stood tall on defense.

The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for the Bison over the Bears, dating back to 1994.
Howard will try to get back on track next Saturday when it takes on North Carolina A&T State University at Greene Stadium at 12 noon.

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