QB Mario Melton had three carries for 97 yards, including a 52-yard TD vs. N.C. A&T
Boxscore
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James posts 103 yards and a touchdown during A&T's Homecoming
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Morgan State used a 31-point explosion in the second half en route to a 41-3 rout of North Carolina A&T during the Aggies homecoming festivities on Saturday afternoon at Aggie Stadium.
Carlton Jackson threw for 128 yards with a 38-yard touchdown pass, and Devan James rushed for 103 yards, including a 28-yard TD, as the Bears improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Linebacker Gregory Onyuike finished with seven tackles and collected two of the Bears' game-high 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Morgan State defensive unit held the Aggies to 139 yards and eight first downs.
Jackson started the ballgame, but was pulled midway through the second quarter as the coaching staff alternated between Jeremy Glover and Mario Melton in the second half.
Morgan State got on the scoreboard early when they capitalized on a punt block by Lamont Bryant to help set up an 18-yard field goal by #James Meade# to take a 3-0 lead with 10:45 remaining in the first quarter. The kick marked Meade's first field goal of the season.
The Bears got back on the scoreboard with 1:37 remaining in the half when Jackson connected with freshman wideout Winfred Diggs on a rollout pass, and Diggs handled the rest by racing 53 yards for a touchdown. It marked Digg's first collegiate touchdown.
The Aggies (2-5, 0-3) extended a drive midway through the second quarter when they ran their second fake punt of the game, this time converting for a first down. However, the Aggies drive came to an end when an errant Carlton Fears pass was picked off by Willie Hardemon to give the Bears the ball at the Morgan 43 six minutes into the second quarter.
N.C. A&T collected a roughing the passer call to set-up a first and goal from the 5 for Morgan State. The Aggies defense played inspired football with its back s to the wall and forced the Bears into a third and goal from the 5. On the ensuing play, Jackson fumbled the ball on a QB draw and the Aggies' Marques Ruffin recovered at the A&T 9 yard line . It was Jackson's fifth fumble of the season, and as a result he was benched for the rest of the night.
Fears ignited the Aggies offense by gaining 58 yards of three carries to help move the ball into the red-zone for the first time all night at the Morgan 17. The drive stalled on a 3rd down and long when Fears dropped back and was hit by Greg Onyuike and George Howard. The Aggies settled for a 32-yard field goal by Eric Houston. The Bears held a 10-3 lead at halftime.
Things changed in a hurry in the second half.
Senior Aaron Moore gave the Bears excellent field position at midfield when he returned the opening kickoff 30 yards.
Melton entered the second half as the Bears signal-caller and ran for 44-yards to the Aggies 10 on his first snap from center. A&T's defense held for the second time inside the 10 yard line and Meade nailed his second field goal of the night to push the lead to 13-3 with 12:42 to go in the third quarter.
Keith Lee has a 43-yard run to get the Bears to the Aggies 17 yard line before Glover connected with Diggs for a 15-yard touchdown pass. It marked Glover's first touchdown pass of his career.
Just about three minutes later, Melton had another spectacular run when he took a QB draw 52-yards for a touchdown.
Melton finished the night with three carries for 97 yards and a touchdown, averaging 32.3 yards per carry.
The Bears defense kept the pressure on A&T when Justin Lawrence sacked Irvin Miller and fell on the fumble to give the Bears the ball at the Aggie 33. Two players later, James ran off end for a 28-yard touchdown to help push the lead to 34-3 to end the quarter to send many A&T faithful to the exits with an entire quarter left to go.
Morgan State capped all scoring when #Wilson Banks# blocked Lee Woodson's punt and it was recovered by Hardemon in the endzone for a score. Meade's PAT gave the Bears a 41-3 margin, as the Bears notched their second win of the season where they scored 40 or more points.
The Bears recorded a season-high 450 yards of total offense, with 280 yards coming of the ground.
