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GAME TIME
Morgan State (1-2, 1-0) continues Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play on Saturday when the Bears host the Delaware State Hornets (0-3, 0-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET) at Hughes Stadium and will be broadcast by WEAA, 88.9 FM and will also be streamed on Facebook Live. The Bears are coming off a thrilling 28-24 comeback victory last Saturday night against Howard. Delaware State looks to rebound from a 79-0 loss against Missouri. The Hornets will be in search of its first win of the season. This will mark the 60th 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 made 10 starts in three seasons at Wagner College, and currently ranks No. 2 in the MEAC in total offense (576 yds); No. 3 in passing (490 yds, 4 TDs) and No. 3 in pass efficiency (116.5).
• Sophomore RB Eric Harrell scored on a 4-yard TD run with 30 seconds left to help defeat Howard last week.
• Senior WR Ladarious Spearman has 11 catches (T-No. 4 in MEAC) for 191 yards and 2 TDs.
• Senior WR Thomas Martin ranks No. 6 in the MEAC in reception yards (127 yds, 8 rec.).
• Senior LB Greg Gibson ranks No. 4 in the MEAC in tackles and posted a career-high 13 stops with 4 TFL and a fumble recovery vs. Howard in Week 4. He has 25 tackles in the last two games.
• The Bears rank No. 4 in the league in total offense (312.3 ypg) and No. 4 in pass offense (194.3 ypg).
• MSU is the second most penalized team in the MEAC having committed 33 penalties for 305 yards.
THE SERIES
• Morgan State leads the series against Delaware State with an overall record of 34-26.
• The last time Delaware State beat the Bears was on Oct. 25, 2012 when the Hornets walked out of Hughes Stadium with a 28-23 victory.
• The Morgan State Bears have won 7 of the last 8 meetings against Delaware State since 2008, including a string of 6-straight since 2010.
A GLANCE AT THE HORNETS
• Delaware State finished the 2015 season with a 1-10 overall mark and was 1-7 in MEAC play, including a 0-6 road record.They capped the season with a 32-31 win against Howard.
• The Hornets' last road win was on Oct. 11, 2014 during a 13-10 overtime win at Norfolk State. DSU has lost 10 straight road contests.
• The Hornets have played a pair of signal-callers in QB Daniel Epperson and Kobie Lain. Epperson has thrown for 202 yards with three touchdowns and six INTs, while Lain has completed 52 percent of his passes for 133 yards and a pick. Tailback Brycen Alleyne will lead the Hornets ground attack and has 142 yards on 26 carries with a TD so far this season. He also leads the team with 9 receptions for 48 yards, incluing a TD. Hornet QBs will also look to target WRs Mason Rutherford (7 rec., 93 yds, TD), Aris Scott (5 rec., 82 yds) and Mike Waters (5 rec., 28 yds) in the passing game.
• Defensively, the Hornets will be led by junior linebacker Malik Harris. The 6-0, 225-pound D.C. native has 23 tackles and a tackle for loss. The secondary will be led by a pair of safties in Logan Wescott and Xavier Wilcher. Wescott leads the team with 25 stops and Wilcher has 20 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss. Freshman noseguard Dominique Drewery has the Hornet's only sack of the season.
• The Hornets come into Saturday's contest giving up almost 300 yards per game on the ground and 250 in the air thru its first three games.
• Kenny Carter (The Citadel, '90) enters his 2nd season at the helm of the Hornets.
LAST TIME OUT VS. DELAWARE STATE
DOVER, Del. (Oct. 3, 2015) - Morgan State running backs Lamont Brown III and Orlando Johnson each scored touchdowns late in the fourth quarter at Alumni Stadium as the Bears downed Delaware State 26-6. The Bears' defense flexed its muscles and played big role in improving the Bears record to 2-2 overall, and 2-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Bears held Delaware State's offense to 91 rushing yards and finished with 11 tackles for loss, a season-high six sacks to go along with three turnovers. Meanwhile, Morgan State's offense amassed 393 yards on 71 plays, including 250 yards on the ground.
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, 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.
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.