Ingram catch leads Morgan State past Hampton, 30-27 - Morgan State University Athletics

Box Score BALTIMORE, Md. -- Junior quarterback Robert Council and senior tight end Nate Ingram won't forget this game anytime soon. Ingram's seven yard touchdown reception from Council with 26.1 seconds left was the difference in Morgan State's 30-27 heart-stopping victory over the Hampton Pirates at Hughes Stadium this afternoon.

"Anytime you have an opportunity to drive down the field -- It's only fitting for Robert," said Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley. "He had such a rough week last week. This week, you lead your team to victory. That's something that he'll be able to take with him for the rest of his life."

Council finished the day by completing 20 of 27 passes for a career-high 287 yards and a touchdown. He also had 80 yards on 18 carries, including a TD.

"That's nothing but God for real," explained Ingram. "Nothing but God. The coaches got confidence in me and then you got Robert [Council] right here (beside him during the interview) with the pass. That's all."

Coming off of a tough loss at Howard last week, Morgan State looked to bounce back and get into contention in the MEAC. Hampton came into this game on a three-game winning streak.

After a stop by the Morgan defense, the Bears received the ball with 2:44 left and trailing 27-23 from their own 18. The big plays started early in the drive when Council ran for 22 yards to the Morgan 40. The next big play took place on a fourth down and 13 from their own 37 when Council completed a 36 yard pass to freshman Antonio Jefferson at the Hampton 27-yard line.

"Every day in practice, we do the two minute drill.," Council said. "That was the same thing. It really wasn't any pressure, (Antonio) was open and caught the ball."

Then after an incomplete pass to Thomas Martin, Martin was roughed up in the endzone. The officials penalized Hampton for a 15-yard pass interference, giving the Bears a first down and goal at the Hampton 7-yard line. That setup the game winning play for Morgan State (3-6, 3-2 MEAC).

Morgan struck first on their second possession when Council's quarterback sneak into the endzone capped an eight play drive, putting Morgan up 7-0 with 6:27 left in the first quarter. The catalyst for that drive was Lamont Brown III's 59 yard run on a third down play. That run represented the longest running play from scrimmage so far this season.

Moller kicked a 23-yard field goal on their next possession. But Morgan had their chance to score a touchdown, but on a first and goal play, a wide open Eme Akonawe dropped a Council pass. Morgan went up 10-0 with 2:02 left.

Hampton struck back nearly a minute into the second quarter when Bryan Bailey connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Twarn Mixson with 14:02 remaining to cut the deficit to 10-7.

12 seconds later, Morgan State senior wide receiver Tubotein Taylor answered the bell for special teams with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That was the first kickoff TD return for MSU since last season (Tyrone Hendrix' 100-yd return vs. DSU). "That was awesome," said Hill. "We were able to get him [Tubotein]back and at full speed (because) he had a concussion early in the year."

Morgan State got back into the endzone on an 11-yard run by Brown III with 10:14 left in the second quarter. The extra point went wide right by Moller. Morgan increased their advantage to 23-7 with 10:14 left.

Hampton (3-6, 3-2 MEAC) started the second half with a bang on an 88-yard touchdown by Jorian Washington with 14:36 left. The extra point was no good as the Pirates trimmed the lead to 23-13. Then, the Pirates struck again on their next possession on a 31-yard run by Marcus Hampton. With the extra point, Hampton cut the lead to within a field goal at 23-20 with 12:05 left in the third quarter.

Washington led the Pirates ground attack with 15 carries for a game-high 137 yards yards.

Council's pass to Akonawe was caught, but then he fumbled the ball at the 1 which was recovered by Hampton. Fortunately for Morgan State, the Pirates didn't capitalize on that.

Antwon Chisolm got a big block from Hampton QB Bryan Bailey to help him run for 58 yards for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Pirates a 27-23 advantage with 10:33 left.

Sophomore cornerback Deshaun Summers intercepted a pass by Bailey with 12 seconds left to end the game. It Summer's third pick of the season, and the 11th interception by the Bears.

Morgan State hosts North Carolina A&T for "Senior Day" on November 9th at 1 p.m.

Bear Bits

+ Lawrence Forbes averaged 45.5 yards on six punts, including a game-high 74-yarder

+ Cody Acker led the Bears with 10 tackles

+ Freshman wideout Antonio Jefferson had a game-high six catches for 140 yards, including a 47-yard reception.

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