DOVER, Del.– Dawson Odums says goodbye to only six seniors for next week’s season finale versus South Carolina State.
That gives the Norfolk State head football coach hope for the future, and the present was pretty impressive as well, as the Spartans snapped a five-game losing streak resoundingly, ruining Delaware State’s own Senior Day with a 44-21 win, improving to 3-7 overall and 1-3 in MEAC play.
“It’s like life; you stay with the journey, and it turns around,” Odums said of his team’s effort. “We’ve got expectations of how we want to do things, what kind of program we want to run, and I’m just happy these guys got a chance to taste victory. It’s been a grind.”
“The scheme today was to keep the ball on the ground and take our shots when they gave them to us,” said junior quarterback Cameron Sapp, who completed 8 of 12 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns in the win. “I feel like we executed our game plan to the fullest, and everybody played well.”
It took the Spartans just three plays to snatch the lead for good as running back X’Zavion Evans rumbled 66 yards down the left sideline for a 7-0 NSU advantage.
DSU’s defense, to its credit, kept Norfolk State away from the end zone as much as they could, but it didn’t matter as placekicker Grandin Wilcox was perfect on the day, making field goals of 36, 4,3, and 47 yards along with five extra points.
The Hornet offense was stymied early by a solid effort by Norfolk State’s front seven and a banner day for junior defensive back Terron Mallory, who intercepted three Delaware State passes.
“Coach Odums, Coach Adams, and Coach Wilson put together a great game plan today,” Mallory said. “We practiced hard this week, just trying to get better and get over the hump as we’ve been trying to do all season.”
The Spartans ran for 285 yards, led by Kevon King’s 113 and 96 more from Evans, while Sapp fired touchdown passes of 17 yards to Tavian Morris and 10 yards to Gregory Perkins.
While it’s too late for a run at a MEAC championship this year, the Spartans are encouraged that they’re playing their best football coming down the stretch.
“We’ve been in close games and weren’t able to close them out, but we got the dub today,” Mallory said.
“We know we’ve been slacking on finishing, so this win means a lot,” Cameron Sapp said. “It means we could’ve done this all season.”
