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Bears Host Bethune-Cookman for Senior Day on Saturday

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GAME TIME
Morgan State (2-5, 2-3) will attempt to snap a three-game losing streak when they prepare to host the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-5, 2-3) on Saturday. The game will mark MSU's Senior Day and is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Hughes Stadium. WEAA, 88.9 FM will be broadcasting the game live. The Bears will look to rebound from a  27-14 loss at Norfolk State, while the Wildcats posted a 41-10 home win against Delaware State. It marked BCU's second straight conference win. This will mark the 29th meeting in the series.

RADIO:  WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears ... Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with former Bear coach Kelvin Bridgers in the booth. The game will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM and streamed on WEAA.org.  

QUICK HITS
• Graduate student transfer QB Chris Andrews currently ranks No. 5 in pass effic. (117.1) , No. 7 in the MEAC in total offense (1,065 yds) and No. 7 in passing (970 yds, 9 TDs).

• Senior WR Landen Malbrough led the Bears with six catches for 75 yards, including two TDs at NSU.

• Senior WR Ladarious Spearman has 19 catches (No. 8 in MEAC) for 309 yards and 3 TDs.

• Senior LB Greg Gibson ranks No. 6 in the MEAC in tackles (56) and posted a career-high 13 stops with 4 TFL and a fumble recovery vs. Howard in Week 4.

• Junior DL Jai Franklin posted a game-high 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackle for loss and a sack at NSU.

• The Bears rank No. 5 in the league in total defense by holding opponents to an average of 359.1 yards per game.

• MSU ranks T-No. 5 in the MEAC in sacks with 13.

• The Bears have won their last three home regular season finale games at Hughes Stadium (2013, '14, '15), but have gone 3-7 in home finale contests since 2006.

THE SERIES
• BCU leads the series against Morgan State with an overall record of 20-8 since the teams first played in 1986.

• The Bears have lost 4-straight meetings since 2010.

• Last year, Quentin Williams threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score as #25 BCU pulled away from the Bears 38-14 at Municipal Stadium  on Nov. 7, 2015.

• The last time at Hughes Stadium for MSU was on Nov. 3, 2012. Isidore Jackson rushed for 111 yards and a late TD to lead the Wildcats to a 24-13 victory.

A GLANCE AT THE WILDCATS
• Bethune-Cookman finished the 2015 season with a 9-2 record in Terry Sims' first season and a 7-1 mark, including a share of the MEAC title. They capped the season by winning two of their last four games, including a season finale victory against Florida A&M.

•  The Bears' last home win against Bethune-Cookman was on Sept. 30, 2006 when they had a 28-14 victory at Hughes Stadium. 

•  Junior QB Larry Brihm (5-11, 209) 

ranks No. 6 in the MEAC in passing. He has completed 53 percent of his passes (64- 121) for 863 yards with 9 TDs and 3 INTs. He also has 44 carries for 56 yards. 

• Tailback Jamaruz Thompkins (5-11, 211) leads the Cats' ground attack and has 281 yards (5.7 avg) on 49 carries. 

• Brihm  will also look to target WRs Frank Brown (21 rec., 351 yds - No. 10; 6 TDs), Jawill Davis  (21 rec., 335 yds, TD)  and Jaime Wilson (13 rec., 92 yds) in the passing game. 

• Defensively, BCU will be led by junior safety Diquan Richardson and r-sophomore linebacker Trenton Bridges. Richardson ranks T-No. 10 in the MEAC in tackles has 50 tackles (25 solo) with 2.5 TFLs and two INTs, while Bridges is second on the team with 44 stops, 6.5 TFL, and leads the squad with 3 sacks.
• R-junior DL DiShawn Ray (6-4, 305) has a pair of sacks and has 28 tackles and a QB hurry. 

•  BCU enters Saturday's contest with the MEAC's No. 3 ranked leader in scoring offense (23.6), rushing offense (153.1), and is No. 4 in pass defense (191.3).

•  BCU ranks No. 8 in the MEAC in red zone offense. The Wildcats have 15 touchdowns and 3 field goals on 25 appearances inside the 20 yardline.

AREA TIES
The Bears have three student-athletes currently on the roster from the state of Florida ... Morgan State's Marcolm Banks is from Tampa and attended Wharton HS; Rico Kennedy played at Dillard HS and is from Fort Lauderdale; and Thomas Martin in a Naples native and graduated from Naples HS.

A WIN WOULD ... 
...give Fred T. Farrier  his 22nd career win as a head coach.
... give Fred T. Farrier his 3rd win as MSU's interim head coach.
... mark Fred T. Farrier's 3rd win against an MEAC opponent.
... mark its first home win against Bethune-Cookman since a 28-14 victory on Sept. 30, 2006.
... mark the Bears 9th win against Bethune-Cookman since 1986.
... snap MSU's 3-game losing streak.
... snap the Bears' 4-game losing streak to Bethune-Cookman.

KEY MILESTONE IN REACH
61 - Yards needed by senior WR Thomas Martin to reach 1,000-career receiving yards; he is currently tied with Robert Surratt (68 rec.) for No. 12 on the school's all-time career receiving list.

181 - Rushing yards needed by redshirt senior RB Lamont Brown III to pass T.J. Stallings (1,510 yds; 1999-02) for 13th place on Morgan State's all-time career rushing list. Brown is currently 14th all-time with 1,330 career yards.

PRESEASON PICKED LAST 
Morgan State, who finished T-4th place a season ago, was picked to finish seventh (7th) to co-defending MEAC champions and Preseason #1 North Carolina A&T, #2 Bethune-Cookman and #3 N.C. Central.

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC PLAYERS
Five (5) Morgan State football players were named to the 2016 MEAC preseason team, which was voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Redshirt senior cornerback Delonta Hall was named first-team All-MEAC, while senior running back Orlando Johnson was a second-team selection. Redshirt senior tight end Willie Gillus III, junior offensive lineman Joshua Miles and junior defensive lineman Jai Franklin were third-team picks.

BEARS OPEN 118th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 118th season of football, and the first under interim head coach Fred T. Farrier.

RETURN MEN 
The 2016 Morgan State Bears return 66 letterwinners, including 15 starters - 9 on offense, 8 on defense and 1 on special teams.

CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS 
The Bears enter the 2016 season looking to post their first winning season since going 7-6 in 2014.

NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2016 campaign against two of its first three non-conference matchups. MSU opens the season at home against Holy Cross (Sept. 3), followed by a road game at Marshall (Sept. 10). The Bears round out non-conference in a season-finale matchup at Army (Nov.19).

BEARS NAME TEAM CAPTAINS
The MSU Bears wrapped up the preseason by naming the team captains for the 2016 season. The leadership group is comprised of four seniors and a junior ... offense - Thomas Martin (Naples, Fla.), Dominique Woods (Skyline, Texas) - defense -  Greg Gibson (Houston, Texas), Ayodeji Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) and special teams - Willie Gillus III (Suffolk, Va.).

BEARS OPEN 40th SEASON IN MEAC
The Bears will open its 40th season in the MEAC when they host the Howard Bison on Sept. 24.

• The Bears opened the 2015 MEAC schedule with a 21-13 victory against Howard at the 18th Annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field. 

• The Bears kicked off its first season in the MEAC in 1971. Morgan State withdrew from the conference at the end of the 1979-80 fiscal year, before returning to the MEAC in 1984.

MSU IN THE CIAA
Morgan State was a power as a former member of the CIAA. The Bears posted 173 wins between 1929 and 1959 when Edward P. Hurt was the head coach and the Bears won 14 CIAA championships. Earl Banks added to the championship collection by winning four titles during the 1960s.

HOME AT THE CAVE
Morgan State opened its 2016 season with a home-opener against Holy Cross on Sept. 3. The Bears 2016 schedule features five home games in Hughes Stadium, including a meeting with MEAC co-champion Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 5 in Baltimore.

MSU SENIORS PREPARE FOR FINAL SEASON
The following is the list of the Morgan State senior football players who will be competing in their last regular season as collegiate student-athletes. These 15 seniors will be working diligently to complete their final courses so they can obtain their degree and take a step into the world as educated young men. The 2016 seniors are:

 1  Orlando Johnson  Memphis, Tenn
 2  Ricky Fisk  Port Arthur, Texas
 4  Deadrick Jones  Memphis, Tenn.
 16  Thomas Martin  Naples, Fla.
 17  Ladarious Spearman  Jamestown, Texas
 27  Marcolm Banks  Tampa, Fla.
 28  Arthur Dukes III  Ypsilanti, Mich.
 41  Greg Gibson  Houston, Texas
 54  Dominique Woods  Skyline, Texas
 84   Willie Gillus  Suffolk, Va.
 85  Landen Malbrough  Beaumont, Texas
 86  Cornelius Middleton  Philadelphia, Pa.
 13      Delonta Hall  Fort Washington, Md.
 32  Lamont Brown III  Suffolk, Va.
 82  Grayling Harrison  Baltimore, Md.

Game Tickets: Season tickets for all five contests at Hughes Stadium are on sale now. For Morgan State football ticket information click here.
 
Click here for the 2016 Football Schedule
 
Follow Morgan State Athletics on Twitter (@MorganStBears) and Facebook (Facebook.com/MorganStateBears), in addition to www.MorganStateBears.com. The Morgan State Bears mobile application is also available for free download from the App Store and Android Market.

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Players Mentioned

Marcolm Banks

#27 Marcolm Banks

RB
5' 8"
Senior
Arthur Dukes III

#28 Arthur Dukes III

RB
5' 11"
Senior
Ricky Fisk

#2 Ricky Fisk

WR
6' 0"
Senior
Jai Franklin

#55 Jai Franklin

DL
6' 3"
Junior
Greg Gibson

#41 Greg Gibson

LB
6' 1"
Senior
Willie Gillus III

#84 Willie Gillus III

TE
6' 2"
Senior
Delonta  Hall

#13 Delonta Hall

DB
5' 8"
Redshirt Senior
Grayling Harrison

#82 Grayling Harrison

WR
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
Orlando Johnson

#1 Orlando Johnson

RB
5' 7"
Senior
Deadrick Jones

#4 Deadrick Jones

DB
5' 10"
Senior
Rico Kennedy

#46 Rico Kennedy

LB
6' 3"
Freshman
Landen  Malbrough

#85 Landen Malbrough

WR
6' 0"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Marcolm Banks

#27 Marcolm Banks

5' 8"
Senior
RB
Arthur Dukes III

#28 Arthur Dukes III

5' 11"
Senior
RB
Ricky Fisk

#2 Ricky Fisk

6' 0"
Senior
WR
Jai Franklin

#55 Jai Franklin

6' 3"
Junior
DL
Greg Gibson

#41 Greg Gibson

6' 1"
Senior
LB
Willie Gillus III

#84 Willie Gillus III

6' 2"
Senior
TE
Delonta  Hall

#13 Delonta Hall

5' 8"
Redshirt Senior
DB
Grayling Harrison

#82 Grayling Harrison

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
WR
Orlando Johnson

#1 Orlando Johnson

5' 7"
Senior
RB
Deadrick Jones

#4 Deadrick Jones

5' 10"
Senior
DB
Rico Kennedy

#46 Rico Kennedy

6' 3"
Freshman
LB
Landen  Malbrough

#85 Landen Malbrough

6' 0"
Senior
WR