Scoring three touchdowns in all three phases of a football game is a rare accomplishment, but to do it in a single quarter means everything is going your way.
That was the case for the Morgan State football team last Saturday, who snapped a five-game losing streak with a homecoming-spoiling 32-28 win at Norfolk State. The Bears (2-5, 1-1 MEAC) now turn their attention to Delaware State, coming off a 17-10 loss to Howard in which the Hornets (1-7, 0-2 MEAC) played one of their better games of the season.
“It was the type of game that, for my young team, we have to be in to learn how to win,” DSU head coach Lee Hull said. “They showed a lot of grit and passion, so even though we lost, we learned from it. We’ve just got to learn how to finish. We had them on the ropes, but we didn’t finish them. When you’re playing the co-champs, you have to finish them.”
Morgan State meanwhile fell behind 21-10 to Norfolk State at halftime, then exploded for 28 second-half points, including a memorable fourth quarter that saw the Bears score the last 22 points of the game in a variety of ways.
Keith Jenkins Jr. returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and linebacker Erick Hunter returned an interception 60 yards to pull MSU within three points. Tahj Smith’s 14-yard run with 35 seconds to go in the game capped an incredible comeback for a program – and a university – that has been tested in many ways this season.
“We’ve gone through a number of challenges this year,” Bears head coach Damon Wilson said. “To get the win for our university was huge. I definitely think it’s something we can use as motivation moving forward. We have a reference point now where we can say we were down three scores, and we did it together.”
