For the first time in 30 years, the Howard Bison have claimed the outright MEAC championship following a 14-7 win over the Morgan State Bears.
Jarett Hunter led the Bison, who produced 108 rushing yards on 20 attempts and scored a touchdown. Aiding him in the backfield was Eden James, who compiled 90 rushing yards on 16 attempts.
Quinton Williams completed 12-of-22 pass attempts for 143 yards, adding a 34-yard rushing touchdown.
Meanwhile, for Morgan State, it was JJ Davis leading the way with 74 rushing yards on 12 attempts. Quarterback Tahj Smith recorded 144 passing yards and 38 rushing yards.
Howard began the game by snatching the momentum on a methodical first offensive drive. For the remainder of the first half, both defenses started to buckle down, getting timely stops to get the opposing offense off the field.
See you in the A!
2023 MEAC Champions! 🏆 @HUBISONFOOTBALL #BleedBlue #STMDT pic.twitter.com/5fekIizhy6
— Howard Athletics (@HUBisonSports) November 18, 2023
The Bison pushed their lead to two scores in their second offensive drive of the third quarter following Williams’ rushing touchdown.
Morgan State put its first points on the board before the end of the third quarter on a 28-yard pass connection from Smith to Traveyon Pratt.
With a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter, the Bears went for a deep pass to Pratt with 8:30 remaining that fell incomplete.
Although it appeared that Pratt was interfered with, as the defender looked to have grabbed hold of his jersey, no call was made, and Morgan State was forced to punt.
Morgan State would not get the ball back for the remainder of the game as Howard would use its strong run game to run the clock out, securing the win.
Howard will now be heading to Atlanta for its first appearance in the Celebration Bowl, awaiting the winner of the SWAC championship.
