QB Delonte "Smoke" Williams
Boxscore
Bear Shots
Bear Shots II
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- It's safe to say Delonte Williams has settled in to his new role with Morgan State.
The Bears' new quarterback ran three touchdowns and scored on a two-point conversion, leading his team to a 27-14 conference win over North Carolina A&T in front of a Homecoming crowd of 21,500 at Aggies Stadium. The win extended MSU coach Donald Hill Eley's career record against the Aggies to 7-2, including five straight since 2005.
“Our young men did a good job rallying behind Delonte [Williams],” said Hill. “The chemistry changed.”
“We made good decisions with the football, we only had one turnover, and we were able to move the ball and get some first downs. It was good to see us creating some type of identity as far as being able to run the ball and throw the ball.”
The three touchdown mark by Williams was the most by a Bear since former standout Chad Simpson ran for three TDs against Savannah State in 2007.
“I think I did pretty good today,” said Williams. “I feel that the coaching staff did a good job preparing me, and as a result it felt kind of easy out there for me.”
“I think we're going in the right direction and we just need to continue to win games.”
The redshirt-freshman piloted the Bears to its best offensive production of the season as MSU evened their record to 3-3 overall and improved to 2-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. And it helped that the offensive line and running back Keith Lee came out rolling.
MSU held a 27-14 lead at halftime, equaling its largest halftime total since putting up 26 points against Bethune-Cookman last Saturday in Baltimore.
After quarterback Ricky Lewis was intercepted by freshman Paul Eatman on the Aggies' opening possession, Lee broke off 27- and 10-yard runs, setting up Williams' 17-yard touchdown scramble.
A missed extra point gave the Bears a 6-0 early advantage.
Following a fumble by Mike Mayhewon their second play from scrimmage, Williams threw a screen pass to junior wideout Winfred Diggs, who cut across the entire field for a 12 yard gain. Two plays later, Williams trotted in from 11 yards out. The Bears held a 12-0 lead.
N.C. A&T (0-6, 0-3 MEAC) got on the scoreboard on the ensuing possession when Shelton Morgan completed a screen pass to Davon Stewart who ran 17 yards a for a touchdown.
MSU responded with their third touchdown of the afternoon when Williams scored on a quarterback sneak to help put the Bears go up 19-7. A&T's Justin Ferrell, the nation's leading kick returner, electrified the crowd when he took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as the Aggies trailed 19-14 with just over 7 minutes remaining in the half.
Lee, a Greensboro (N.C.) product, finished with a career-best 77 yards on 15 carries. His previous high was 74 yards against North Carolina Central in 2008.
Williams found senior tight end Jephte Cherenfant for a 33-yard pass play to give the Bears 1st and 10 on the A&T 12 yardline. A pass interference penalty helped setup a 1 yard TD run by Cherenfant to extend the Bears' lead to 27-14 at intermission.
MSU had one of its best offensive halves of the season as the offense accounted for 17 first downs, was a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone and held a 21:57 to 8:03 advantage in time of possession.
The rookie quarterback finished the game 7-for-12 for 100 yards and his only glaring mistake was an interception he threw early in the third quarter.
MSU finished with 361 total yards and 261 on the ground. Lee, Jourdan Brooks (11-59 rushing yards), David Brown (8-63), and Brian Mann (7-44) supplied their team plenty of running options.
The Aggies managed 309 total yards. Mayhew, who entered the game as one of the MEAC's leading rushers (ranked No.2 – 100.2/g) finished with 19 carries for 89 yards and was held under 100 yards for the first time this season.
Morgan was intercepted once and completed 9 of 20 passes for 126 yards, while Ricky Lewis added 47 yards on eight carries.
The Aggies had three offensive possessions start inside the Bears 30 yard line and came away with zero points. They also had two long drives in the fourth quarter, one that ended with a fumble, and their last drive ended on the 1 yard line as time expired.
The Bears will have a bye before playing against Delaware State during the Bears Homecoming celebration on October 21 at Hughes Stadium.
"We can go into the bye week with confidence knowing everyone's doing the right thing,” said team captain Jephte Cherenfant. “We know we can be successful."
