Game winning field goal completes Morgan State’s comeback, 24-23

Box Score

Bear Shots I

Bear Shots II

BALTIMORE, Md. – Down 23-21 with 1 second remaining, Morgan State's Chris Moller hit a 27 yard field goal as time expired to give the Bears a 24-23 victory Saturday over North Carolina A&T in front of a crowd of 6,478 at Hughes Stadium for MSU Senior Day.

Morgan State is now 4-6 overall and improved to 4-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"It was another hard fought conference win," said Morgan State head caoch Donald Hill-Eley. "We beat a team that was very physical and a team that was only giving up 70 yards rushing. It came down to the end, and we were able to keep our composure, get the field goal and get the victory."

After a 38-yard field goal by Aggie placekicker Cody Jones with 11:14 remaining, Morgan State trailed 23-14. With 6:08 remaining, the Bears crept closer when Seth Higgins checked into the ballgame and led the Bears on a six play, 73-yard drive resulting in a 9-yard touchdown reception by freshman wideout Antonio Jefferson (3 rec., 67 yds) from Higgins. It marked Higgins' first bit of action since suffering an injury at North Carolina Central (Oct.19).

Morgan State's defense forced a three-and-out by the Aggies offense and started their final drive with 4:27 left on the clock on their own 46 yard line. The Bears drove to the A&T 46 yard line, but needed to convert a 4^th and 2 in order to keep the drive alive. Following a timeout by the Bears, Higgins tossed a 5-yard pass to Tubotein Taylor for the first down.

Higgins had a 10-yard run negated due to a holding penalty that gave the Bears 2^nd and 20 from the Morgan 49. But again, Higgins came up big for the Bears. The junior took the ensuing snap, rolled left and connected with tight end Ladarius Spearman who raced down the sideline for a 28-yard gain. The Bears used the next five plays to run down the clock and center the ball for Moller's game-winning kick.

"It's indescribable, in all honesty," said Moller about the game-winning kick. "I just had to thank the offense for getting us down the field, setting me up for the field goal. We had a great blocking scheme, snap, hold and everything was good, so I had to come through for the team and get this win."

MSU's first points came on the opening drive when Robert Council engineered a 12-play 75-yard drive capped a 23-yard touchdown run by Council. Moller's extra point gave the Bears a 7-0 lead.

The Aggies responded with a 9-play drive that consumed over 4 minutes of clock. And Tarek Cohen jitterbugged in the backfield en route to a 6-yard TD run with 4:52 left in the 1^st quarter.

Cohen carried the workload for the Aggies throughout the game. The freshman finished with 31 carries for a game-high 185 yards.

A&T quarterback Lewis Kindle was intercepted by Paul Eatman near the goal line and returned to 35. It was Eatman's third interception of the season, and the 12^th of the season by the Bears.

The Bears turned A&T's mistake into points. Council tossed a 51-yd strike to Antonio Jefferson to help setup a 1^st and 10 from the Aggies 16. A few plays later, Council scored on a 1-yard plunge to put the Bears up 14-7 midway through the 2^nd quarter.

Council completed 8 of 17 passes for 122 yards, and led the Bears with 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Aggies got on the scoreboard just before halftime thanks in part to a pair of Morgan penalties. A kick catch interference, followed by a faskmask penalty led to a 29-yard field goal by Cody Jones. The Bears held a 14-10 halftime advantage.

A&T started the second half on offense and made the most of it with an 11-play 92 yard drive that ended when Kindle hit Devin Moore for a 3-yard TD pass. Jones' extra point gave the Aggies its first lead of the game at 17-14 at the 10:06 mark of the 3^rd quarter.

The Bears defense limited A&T to a pair of 38 yard field goals to extend to a 23-14 lead with 8:49 to play in the game.

Cody Acker led Morgan's defense with 10 tackles, Darien Irby finished for seven tackles and Chris Robinson added five tackles and a sack.

Morgan State returns to action on Thursday, November 14 at South Carolina State in an ESPNU televised matchup.

Print Friendly Version