Herb Walker Jr. finished with a game-high 111 yards and a TD.
Box Score NORFOLK, Va. -- Morgan State made a furious comeback in the fourth quarter to take a 14-9 lead, but it was not enough tonight.
Norfolk State used a last minute drive to rally and pull out its first victory of the season, a 15-14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win Saturday at William "Dick" Price Stadium.
The loss marked the eighth straight against the Spartans since 2007.
The Bears (2-3, 1-1) scored a pair of touchdowns late against a staunch Spartans defense that made it miserable for Morgan's high-powered offense for the first three quarters. Trailing 9-0, the Bears lit the scoreboard on the first play of the fourth quarter when redshirt freshman
Orlando Johnson turned the corner and raced 23-yards for a touchdown.
Chris Moller's extra point trimmed Norfolk's lead to 9-7.
After Norfolk was forced to punt on their next series, Morgan State drove 65-yards on nine runs and took its first lead at 14-9 with 8:28 remaining when
Herb Walker Jr. took an option pitch from
Robert Council for a 5-yard TD.
The Spartans (1-4, 1-1) offense, which came into the game as one of the league's worst, showed it could get the job done down the stretch with a little help.
With 4:55 left to play the Spartans started its game-winning drive at the Bears 49. The drive didn't get off to a great start as
Christopher Robinson recorded a pair of sacks. But the Spartans ended up covering three third downs – including a 17-yard pass from Terrence Ervin to Isaac White on third and 15 – and a pass interference penalty against
Antonio Jefferson who was defending Lynden Trail. Following the penalty, backup quarterback Tyler Clark ran in for the 1-yard gamewinning TD.
Herb Walker Jr., the MEAC's leading rusher, was once again the headliner for the Bears offense. The redshirt-sophomore running back finished with a game-high 111 yards on 21 carries against one of the league's top-ranked rushing defenses (ranked No. 25 in the FCS). It marked his fourth straight 100-yard rushing game.
The Bears had a season-low 242 total yards, including just 38 yards through the air as Council completed 4 of 19 attempts. He also had 62 yards on 14 carries.
Morgan State started the day with an impressive opening drive and was on the doorstep of its first score of the day. On 1
st and 10 from the Spartan 13, Council ran a QB keeper and appeared as though he would score, however he had the ball jarred loose on a hit by Keenan Lambert just before crossing the endzone. The ball was recovered by Norfolk at the 1.
The Spartans were held to three field goals in the first half by Cameron Marouf. Marouf connected on field goals from 43 and 26 in the second quarter to give Norfolk a 6-0 halftime lead,
Norfolk capped a 7-play, 83-yard drive with a 43-yard field goal by Marouf with 10:55 left in the third quarter to increase the lead to 9-0.
Morgan State was led on defensive by sophomore
Antonio Jefferson. Jefferson, who was making his first start at strong safety finished with a game-high 12 tackles, while
Greg Gibson added 11. The Bears also collected 12 tackles for loss, including three sacks.
Bear Notes The teams combined for 18 penalties on the day. The Bears had 8 for 52 yards, while the Spartans had 10 for 86 yards.
The Spartans held a 35:05 to 24:55 advantage in time of possession.
Morgan State went 2-of-10 on third down conversions, while Norfolk State finished 9-of-17.
Redshirt-senior
Christopher Robinson currently ranks No. 2 in the FCS with a total of eight (8) sacks.
