RB Craig Nelson rushed for career-high 203 yards and 3 TDs.
Boxscore
Baltimore, Md. – The last time Morgan State and Bowie State met on the gridiron was 14 years ago when the Bulldogs ran away with a 34-9 upset victory.
Tonight, Morgan State (1-0, 0-0 MEAC) was able to fend off the Bulldogs, 41-35, in front of 9,571 fans in attendance for the inaugural Harlow Fullwood Classic at Hughes Stadium.
First year head coach Michael Lynn and his Bulldogs had their sites set on taming his former team where he had worked as an assistant coach for the previous three years.
The Bulldogs wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. On the Bears’ second play from scrimmage Bowie cornerback Alonzo Corbett picked off a pass from MSU quarterback Bradshaw Littlejohn and raced 32 yards for an early Bulldog lead.
However the Bears struck back on the ensuing possession as sophomore tailback Craig Nelson raced 63-yards to paydirt, tying the score at 7.
Nelson would finish the day with a career-high 203 yards rushing on 29 carries and 3 touchdowns and was selected as the Classic’s Offensive MVP.
Nelson scored the next two touchdowns and pushed MSU’s lead to 21-7 with 6:15 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
BSU (1-1, 0-0) returned to the scoreboard when quarterback Jabali Smith hooked up with wideout Glenn Thomas for a 31-yard TD. Thomas led the Bulldogs’ aerial attack with 6 catches for 126 yards and scored two touchdowns.
MSU extended its lead to 27-14 when Littlejohn threw a 33-yard strike to junior wideout Kelvin Dickens to end the first half scoring.
Dickens led the Bears in the receiving column with 5 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
But once again the Bulldogs refused to lay down. On their opening possession of the 2nd half, they marched 71 yards in 10 plays capped by a 29-yard TD reception by Thomas from Smith as the BSU pulled to within a touchdown.
The shootout continued as Littlejohn raced for a 24-yard TD, capping a 4-play, 64-yard drive.
BSU struck back quickly when Isaac Redman brought the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards to pull the Bulldogs to within a touchdown.
Littlejohn moved his offense 80-yards, in 8 plays and put the game away when he tossed his second TD pass of the night when he found Dickens wide open in the endzone for a 41-28 lead at the 12:20 mark of the 4th quarter.
Littlejohn completed 11-of-27 passes for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 42 yards and a score.
BSU would score again when Smith tossed his third touchdown of the night to DeMarcus Reeves, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs came up shy in a classic shootout.
The two teams combined for over 800 yards in total offense. BSU gained 262 yards on the ground, while the Bears rushed for 218.
Morgan State's next contest will be Saturday, September 11th when they host the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (0-1). Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
