MSU vs. Akron Gamenotes
2009 MORGANSTATE FOOTBALL
Season Opener
Saturday, September 12 - 2 p.m. (ET)
Morgan State (0-0, 0-0 MEAC) vs. Akron (0-0, 0-1 MAC)
Akron, Ohio. - InfoCision Stadium
Live Coverage
Radio: WEAA Radio (88.9 FM) in Baltimore, Md. (Mark Gray (Play-by-Play) and Kelvin Bridgers (Color Analyst).
BEAR FACTS
2008 Record: 6-6
Head Coach: Donald Hill-Eley
Alma Mater/Year: Virginia Union/1991
Record at Bear/Year: 36-43/8th
Career Record/Years: Same
Football SID: Leonard L. Haynes IV
Office Phone: 443-885-3831
E-Mail: lhaynesiv@aol.com
Ticket Info: 443-885-3830
SERIES FACTS
Games Played: 0
Series Record: n/a
First Meeting: n/a
Last Meeting: n/a
Current Streak: n/a
Hill vs. Akron: n/a
Opening Kickoff
The Morgan State football team kicks off its 112th season of football on Saturday, Sept. 12 against the University of Akron at the grand opening of InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio. Head coach Donald Hill-Eley has been a guiding light to a program that had previously not had a winning season in three decades. The 40-year old coach enters the 2009 season with a 36-43 record in seven seasons at the helm, which is good enough for third-best all-time record behind legendary coaches Edward P. Hurt and Earl. C. Banks.
The opening match-up will mark the first matchup with Akron in the history of the program.
MSU's offensive lineup will feature quite a few changes as the squad's top two offensive linemen (Dwayne Delaney and Dakarai Grimsley) and a top receiver (Robert Surratt) all departed due to graduation. In addition, the Bears are in the midst of a quarterback competition between senior Carlton Jackson and freshman Donovan Dickerson. Hill has named Jackson the starter for Akron, but said that Dickerson may also play in the contest.
Defensively, MSU will be without the services of 2008 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Jarrell Guyton, yet the Bears return six starters and should remain among the leading defensive units in the nation with Herbert Parham taking over a defensive coordinator void left by former coach Alonzo Lee (N.C. A&T head coach). The Bears will take advantage of its talent and depth at the linebacker position. Seniors Troy Leftwich, George Howard and junior Danny Evans are the top LBs, while senior safety Jody Ellis and junior cornerback Darren McKhan are also defensive players to watch. Senior defensive end Justin Lawrence will push for All-American honors as the anchor of the Bears' defensive frontline. MSU has nine players who started in at least three games from the MEAC's top ranked defense from a season ago.
Another top story line for MSU is senior speedster Devan James returning to at tailback – James, a first-team All-MEAC selection, rushed for 1,337 yards, 4.6-yard average and eight touchdowns last year. He led the MEAC in rushing throughout most of the season and his seven 100-yard plus games included a 219 yards vs. Howard and 178 vs. Towson. The coaching staff will look for James to pick-up where he left off and continue to make his mark in the school's record books.
Following a theme of “Let's Get Down To Business,” the Bears have had a focused preseason camp and are counting on another strong season.
For Openers
In MSU's football history, the Bears have posted a 48-32 record in season-openers since 1930. Donald Hill-Eley has recorded a 3-4 mark in lid-lifters. Eddie P. Hurt, who was far-and-away the most successful MSU coach in season-opening contests. During his tenure in Baltimore, Hurt posted a 23-6 mark in contests that christened the season (since 1930). Currently MSU is on a stretch of winning six of its last 15 opening games since 1989.
MSU-Akron Series
First match-up is school history.
MAC Battles
In addition to Akron, the MSU football team has played only one other team from the Mid-American Conference. The Bears won at Buffalo by a score of 45-27 on October 3, 1992 under head coach Richard “Ricky” Diggs, and fell at Buffalo 35-17 on October 10, 1998 under head coach Stump Mitchell.
September Challenges
The Bears have played 27 football games in the month of September under head coach Donald Hill-Eley, posting an 8-19 record. During Hill's first season as head coach he was defeated 49-28 at Towson on Sept. 5, 2002. MSU opened the 2004 season with a 41-35 win at Hughes Stadium against Bowie State on Sept. 4. The Bears have lost their last three September openers to Towson (L 29-26, Sept. 1, 2005; L 30-2, Sept. 2, 2007; L, 21-16, Sept. 6, 2008).
MSU Offense Quick Notes for 2009
Six starters return on offense, including guard Robert Norris, tackle Lawrence Brewer, fullback Jephte Cherenfant, wideout Edwin Baptiste, quarterback Carlton Jackson and tailback Devan James ... Norris, a CDS Preseason All-American, anchored an offensive line that averaged 170 rushing yards per game in 2008 ... Jackson, a transfer from Akron, threw for over 742 yards and had five touchdown passes in 2008 ... Baptiste had 22 receptions for 322 yards, including two touchdowns as a junior last season ... MSU will look for its three straight season with a 1,000-yard rusher in 2009 after All-MEAC RB Devan James ran for 1,337 yards last year ... Jephte Cherenfant, a Preseason All-MEAC First Team selection, had seven receptions for 53 yards, including a touchdown in 2008.
MSU Defensive Quick Notes for 2009
MSU returns six starters on defense for 2009 ... linebacker George Howard led the Bears with 64 tackles and had 10.5 tackles for loss last season ... Troy Leftwich added 56 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and three interceptions … the 17 tackles for loss by Justin Lawrence (47 tackles) were the most in the MEAC in 2008 ...All-MEAC cornerback Darren McKhan has started every game in his career and led the team with 11 pass breakups and four interceptions in 2008 ... safety Jodie Ellis had 38 tackles and two interceptions in his first season as a transfer from the University of Illinois ... MSU ranked 12th in the nation in 30 turnovers gained and 13th in sacks (32) in 2008 … forced a fumble in 11 of its 13 games and recovered a fumble in 10 of those ... the defense led the nation in total defense by limiting opponents to 213.4 ypg in 2008.
Special Teams Quick Notes for 2009
The Bears ranked 7th in the MEAC in net punting at 34.8 net yards per punt ... MSU looks to replace James Meade, who was 26-of-28 on PAT's and 10-of-16 on field goals … MSU had zero kickoff or punt returns for touchdowns ... MSU foes booted seven field goals in 2008 ... Long- snapper Terrell Simmons, a three-year starter, was nearly perfect on snaps last year … MSU blocked five punts and a field goal in 2008.
Poll Positions
Last year, the Bears entered the season No. 5 in the MEAC preseason media poll. This year the Bears will enter the season ranked No. 6. The last time the Bears entered the season ranked No. 6 was in 2007when they finished the season with a 5-6 record.
Worth Noting
This weekend's contest will mark QB Carlton Jackson's first return to Akron since he transferred from the Zips two years ago. In 2006, Jackson saw action in four games and served as a backup. He only attempted and completed one pass on the season, that coming in the Buffalo contest. SS Rodney Etienne transferred to Morgan State along with Jackson in 2006.
Bear Tube
On Thursday, October 15, Morgan State's football game at home against Beltway rival Howard will be televised live by ESPNU. In Donald Hill-Eley's seven years at the helm of the Bears, this will mark the third football game ESPNU has televised.
UP NEXT
Morgan State will host Winston-Salem State at Giants Stadium in the Whitney Young Classic. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, September 19th.
