EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The
Morehouse Maroon Tigers traveled to the New York/New Jersey area to face Howard in the third annual HBCU NY Classic, held at MetLife Stadium before a crowd of more than 30,000.
Howard took the opening kickoff back to the Howard 47-yard line. The Bison would score a touchdown on the drive, utilizing 12 plays and consuming 5:08 off the clock.
Miles Scott would be the starting signal caller for the Maroon Tigers. Scott started in five of his six freshman-season games for the Maroon Tigers last season.
After a three-and-out by Morehouse, Howard would march 61 yards in 2:23 to increase their lead to 14-0.
The first bright spot for the Maroon Tigers came on defense. After the Bison gained a first down, the defense would come up big during the next series of downs, holding on 4th down. Stephen Rowser would collect a sack to give the Maroon Tigers possession at the Morehouse 35-yard line.
Despite the slight shift in momentum, the Morehouse offense was still unable to move the ball, going three-and-out again. The defense would hold and force a punt, but Morehouse would muff the punt, and Howard would maintain possession, to close out the first quarter. Opening the second quarter, the Bison would cross midfield, but the Maroon Tiger defense would hold again on a fourth down.
The Morehouse offense would finally come alive, crossing mid-field for the first time. Entering the red zone, Scott would find
Kamrin Brunson for an apparent touchdown, but Brunson would be ruled out-of-bounds by the replay official, bringing up 3rd down. Scott would hit
Ajani Williams on a back-shoulder fade on the next play, with the official marking Williams out at the one-half-yard line.
Another replay would occur, and this time, the replay official would rule in favor of the Maroon Tigers, overturning the call and awarding Morehouse the touchdown (Khasen Kirkland PAT), cutting the Maroon Tigers deficit to 14-7, with 7:26 remaining in the half.
Howard would march back down the field and use six plays to drive 68 yards in 3:14 to open the lead back to 14 points at 21-7.
After a penalty on the ensuing kickoff forced Morehouse to start inside its 10-yard line, the Maroon Tigers would go three-and-out. A Morehouse punt would give Howard the ball at mid-field. The Maroon Tigers' defense would once again come up big, stopping the Bison on 4th down at the Maroon Tiger 39-yard line. The two teams would trade possessions to end the half (Howard 21, Morehouse 7).
Misfortune continued to open the 2nd half. Morehouse would fumble on the opening kickoff, and Howard would recover at the Morehouse 31-yard line. Morehouse would hold Howard to a field goal attempt, which would go wide-left.
After a subsequent three-and-out by Morehouse, Howard would score in just four plays, covering 44 yards, in just 35 seconds, bringing the score to 28-7 in favor of the Bison. The quarter would end with the same score.
Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, Seve Spruill would send a punt to the Howard 2-yard line. The Bison would drive the length of the field to put their fifth touchdown on the scoreboard with 13:22 remaining in the final quarter.
The Maroon Tigers would out-score the Bison in the final quarter. After another Morehouse punt, Howard would throw an interception on a flea-flicker attempt, with the interception occurring on the Howard 19-yard line. Isaiah Windbush would return the ball to the Morehouse 45-yard line. The Maroon Tigers would capitalize off the turnover, driving four plays in 1:55, giving the Scott to Williams combination their second touchdown of the day with a 21-yard pass (Kirkland PAT), cutting the deficit to 35-14.
After the two teams traded possessions, Morehouse would score their final touchdown of the day on a seven-play, 63-yard drive, taking exactly two minutes off the clock. Scott would hit Brunson in the middle of the end zone for the score (Kirkland PAT), making the score 35-21, Howard, which would be the final score.
On the day, Scott would go 17/31 with zero interceptions and three touchdowns. Williams would catch six passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns, while Brunson would hall in four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Caleb Grant would lead the defense with 12 tackles.
Sean Johnson and Stephen Rowser would each have eight tackles. Johnson had one sack, while Rowser had two sacks. Seve Spruill would punt the ball nine times for a 38.3-yard average, including a long of 58 yards and one punt downed inside the five-yard line.
The Maroon Tigers travel to Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 21, to face Kentucky State in the 26th annual Chicago Football Classic. Kickoff from Soldier Field is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET. For up-to-date athletic information on the Maroon Tigers, follow them on social media or online at
www.morehouseathletics.com
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors seven men's and six women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.