The Howard Bison opened their 2023 football season with a 33-23 loss against Eastern Michigan.
Howard quarterback Quinton Williams finished the game with 194 passing yards on 16-of-33 passing and scoring two touchdowns. His leading receiver, freshman Jamarr Ebron, had two receptions for 79 yards.
Eden James led the team in rushing with 97 yards on nine attempts. The biggest story toward the end of the game for the Bison was James entering the locker room in the fourth quarter due to an undisclosed injury.
Ian Wheeler accounted for 67 rushing yards, while Kasey Hawthorne showcased his all-around abilities, recording 84 yards from scrimmage. This included 47 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
Eastern Michigan got a hot start, taking a 23-0 lead with 12:20 remaining in the second quarter. Of those 23 points, nine came off special teams miscues by the Bison.
They first gave up a safety after fumbling a botched snap on a punt attempt in the end zone. Then, the Bison surrendered an 84-yard punt return touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.
Howard would soon put up its first points of the game minutes later thanks to a 64-yard pass touchdown connection to make the score 23-6.
However, the special teams bug came back to bite the Bison as they surrendered yet another special teams touchdown, this time on a 96-yard kick return.
https://twitter.com/HUBisonSports/status/1697793306464231577?s=20
In addition to blunders on special teams, penalties were also an issue, being called for six in the first half (compared to just two by Eastern Michigan).
With 30 seconds remaining in the first half, HU scored on a 38-yard field goal to make the score 30-9 at the half.
In the third quarter, Howard began to fight back into the game, primarily thanks to success on the ground. They recorded 125 rushing yards on 14 attempts in the third, leading to two touchdowns, trimming the deficit to 30-23 entering the fourth quarter.
The defense also did a great job against the Eastern Michigan offense in the third, holding them to 29 yards on 11 plays.
Howard began driving the ball down the field to start the fourth quarter, getting into Eastern Michigan territory.
Then, on second down and seven with 12:23 left in the game, the penalty bug came back to bite them as they were called for intentional ground and a personal foul, pushing them back to third down and 35 yards to go.
They were forced to punt the ball, and by the time they got it back, it was now a 10-point deficit with 4:04 remaining.
