The Howard football team took their frustrations of their opening game loss out on Morehouse College last Saturday night, and this coming Saturday afternoon, they’ll have a chance to claim more bragging rights in another HBCU rivalry game.
The Bison will square off against Hampton University in the Battle of the HUs Saturday at Audi Field in Southwest Washington, D.C., at 3:30 p.m. The game, also known as the Truth and Service Classic, will be streamed on ESPN-Plus.
“It’s going to be a tough, physical game. Hampton plays a brand of football that leads to what we want to be,” Howard head coach Larry Scott said of the Pirates, who come into the game 1-1 after a 31-23 loss to Norfolk State. “It’s always fun for these two schools to get together, and we’re doing it at Audi Field at a primetime slow, so we’re definitely excited about it, and we’re preparing for it.”
The Bison cruised past Morehouse 65-19 under brand-new lights at Greene Stadium this past weekend. Quarterback Quinton Williams threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns, connecting twice with Breylin Smith and Richie Ilarraza in the end zone. Four Bison ballcarriers – Kasey Hawthorne, Jarrett Hunter, Ian Wheeler, and Ja’Shawn Scroggins – scored rushing touchdowns for Howard in the win. Scott was happy with the energy and performance of his team.
“It was the first time under our new lights with a sold-out crowd, so it was a heck of a game environment, even through the rain,” he said. The kids were excited to play because we let one go the week before [against Eastern Michigan]. We wanted to come out, play to our standard, and clean up our penalties. We did that and had some success, so I’m pleased with how we played.”
Expanding on that point, Scott added that there was a lot that the Bison needed to do to be successful last weekend and going forward.
“When you play football, you want to play clean,” he explained. “You want to cut down on penalties, tackle well and execute well. We played fast, clean, and efficiently. That’s what I want us to establish as we go through the season.”
