BALTIMORE, Md. -- If there were a game the Morgan State Bears had to win it would have been the homecoming of Morgan's 150th year. Morgan Alumni, young and elderly, packed Hughes Stadium to see their Bears get their first win of the season as they defeated Savannah State 48-28.
After losing three non-conference games and dropping two MEAC games, the Bears played effectively on both sides of the ball to pull out the homecoming victory.
"It feels good," said Bears quarterback Elijah Staley. "We've been working hard and we knew things would start clicking."
Staley threw three touchdown passes and Morgan State jumped to a 42-7 first-half lead.
"It's great to get that monkey off our backs," said MSU head coach Fred. T. Farrier. "For the most part, we paid attention to detail and did the little things. This was a great start to the second half of our season and a good marker for where we are."
Savannah State would draw first blood when running back Uriah Oliver took a screen pass 83 yards to the end zone on the Tigers first possession of the game.
Morgan would respond on their second possession when junior running back Eric Harrell snuck in from the one yard line to tie the game up at seven.
The strength of the Bears team this year has been the defense. The Bears D came up with a fumble recovery on the Tiger's 26 yard line in the first quarter. The Bears offense would take advantage of the turnover when Staley tossed the ball to Amonta Poteat for a 21 yard touchdown giving Morgan a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
It's hard to imagine in the first three weeks Morgan State failed to reach the end zone because the Bears are starting to find the end zone more frequently. Morgan scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter against the Tigers. "We made less mistakes and we capitalized off of some of the opportunities and our guys just played better," said Coach Farrier.
Staley was 14 of 22 for 220 yards while Harrell gained 114 yards on 16 carries. Herb Walker Jr. added 19 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown and Manassah Bailey pulled in five catches for 116 yards and a score.
"It was beautiful," Staley said of the Bears' mixed attack. "The O-line played great and the running game, which had been struggling, was big time. It's hard to beat a team when two guys each go over 100 yards. Watching [Harrell and Walker] do their thing was amazing — and they blocked great, too."
Gibbons completed just 5 of 17 pass attempts, but two went for touchdowns.
The Bears will travel to D.C. to take on Howard for their homecoming October 21. They return home October 28 to play Florida A&M University.
