Morgan State University Athletics

Box Score

Boxscore 

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Robert Morris (1-1) employed a balanced attack against the Bears defense as they accumulated 384 total yards of offense and was dominant on defense.
 
RMU's 6-4, 265 pound quarterback Paul Jones tossed three touchdowns and running back Deontae Howard ran for a score to help lift the Colonials to a 31-14 victory at Joe Walton Stadium on Saturday.
 
Jones, a transfer from Penn State, completed 13-of-26 passes for 194 yards and controlled the tempo of the game to lead the Colonials to its first win since beating Sacred Heart 21-17 on Nov. 10, 2012.
 
The Colonials ground attack ripped the Bears for 190 yards (5.1 avg), led by Howard who finished the ballgame with 76 yards on 16 carries.
 
For the second consecutive game the Bears hurt themselves with costly penalties. MSU was flagged 11 times for 81 yards, while the Colonials finished with seven penalties for 36 yards.
 
"We just find a way to make too many first half mistakes," said MSU head coach Donald Hill-Eley.  "We started off the game with an offsides…  Robert Morris came in and wanted to play the team they saw on tape versus Army, and for whatever reason 'that team' didn't take the field."
 
"They (RMU) played with a lot of poise and they played very aggressive, while we just kind of sat back and played on our heels all afternoon."
 
Moses Skillon was one of three quarterbacks to play for the Bears today. Skillon, a redshirt freshman, made the most of his first bit of action by completing 9-of-18 passes for 207 yards and tossed a pair of touchdowns to wideout Andrew King in the fourth quarter.
 
"Moses got in for his first collegiate game and sat in the pocket, played with a lot of poise and made some good reads. Like any other freshman, he made a few miscues here and there, but he got the guys to start playing with him."

"Whoever we put under the center, we have to find a way to have some consistency with what we're doing and today just definitely wasn't it."
 
Morgan State's (0-2) offense produced 291 yards and was held to just 62 yards on the ground.
 
The Bears schedule get no easier as they hit the road for its next two games when they travel to play Liberty next Saturday (Sept. 14), followed by meeting with Western Kentucky on Sept. 21.
 
RMU started the game with a 75-yard touchdown run by Ryan Thermil, but it was waived off due to a penalty. However, the Colonial's ended up lighting the scoreboard on its second possession of the afternoon when Jones ran a misdirection play and connected with tight end Tyler Digby for an 8-yard touchdown with 3:59 remaining in the 1^st quarter.
 
Robert Council, who had a solid game at Army last week, started at quarterback for the Bears today. The redshirt-junior never seemed to find his rhythm as he completed just 4-of-6 passes for 22 yards, had a fumble, threw an interception and was sacked twice. Seth Higgins came in to relieve Council in the second quarter, but he also struggled as he didn't complete a pass (0-of-4) and was sacked twice.
 
A 42-yard punt return by Antwan Eddie for 42 yards helped setup RMU's offense deep in MSU territory. Four plays later Howard scored on a 4-yard lead power play. Conner Shennan's extra point gave the Colonials a 14-0 lead just before halftime.
 
RMU opened the second half scoring when Jones rolled outside of the pocket against pressure and found Chad Dawgiello for a 23-yard strike to push the lead to 21-0 with 11:36 left in the 3^rd quarter.
 
The 4^th quarter was dominated by MSU's redshirt-freshman. Skillon completed a 49-yard pass to Chris Flowers, which setup a 6-yard touchdown pass to Andrew King. Chris Mollar's extra point trimmed the lead to 21-7. (13:20).
 
The Colonials responded when Jones tossed a pass intended for the tight end that ended up floating into the hands of wideout Duane Mitchell who scored on a 38-yard catch (9:30), followed by a 27-yard field goal by Shennan to extend RMU's lead to 31-7 with 5:32 remaining.
 
Skillon capped the day with a 44-yard TD pass to King for the final play of the game.
 
BEAR NOTES
 
*Junior Cody Acker led the Bears defense with 10 tackles and a tackle for a loss
 
*Senior cornerback Joe Rankin recorded his 1^st interception of the season and the 11^th of his career.
 
*RMU drove deep within Bear territory before Derik Abbott was intercepted by linebacker Bill Hill on Morgan's 16 yard line.