Football 4/30/2017 8:44:00 AM MSU Athletics Communications

Bears Wrap Spring Camp

BALTIMORE, Md. – Elijah Staley and DeAndre Harris combined to rack up almost 400 passing yards as the Orange team secured a victory over the Blue team Saturday afternoon during Morgan State's Spring Game at Hughes Stadium.

In addition to touchdowns and PATs, points were also awarded on offense for explosive plays, while the defenders gained points for sacks, tackles for loss, three and outs, and turnovers.

Morgan State head coach Fred T. Farrier was pleased about the overall performance of his team.

"I thought it was a good day overall when you get a chance to play full speed, tackle and kind of see some of what we've been installing over the course of the spring," said Farrier. "I thought our defense flew around and did some really good things. We also saw a lot of good communication out there and not a lot of structural breakdowns -- such as missed tackles. Guys were in position and played fast."

Multiple players saw action for both teams throughout the contest, and the second half featured a running clock.

Staley, a transfer from Tyler Junior College (Texas), finished the day completing 16-of-26 passes for 216 yards, while Harris threw for 159 yards and was 9-of-20.

"Offensively, I thought it was good to see some productivity," Farrier said. "It was good to see Elijah play quarterback and make a few throws and he didn't force things downfield. We were kind of limited with what we did, but I thought he showed some patience and wasn't too over-aggressive with what he was trying to do and showed some glimpses of what we can expect with some of the throws he made in the second half."

Wideout Dushon David finished with three catches for 38 yards. Brian Gentry was on the end of a 35-yard pass from Staley and finished the day with 50 yards.

Morgan State's rushing attack was led by Eric Harrell. The Orlando product opened the scoring in the first quarter when he took a carry off tackle for a 62-yard TD run. He finished the day with 80 yards. He also added three catches for 24 yards. Deontaye White chipped in 54 yards and hauled in four receptions for 53 yards. The Bears ground game totaled 244 yards.

Alex Raya capped an 11-play drive by connecting on a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter.

The Orange team got a pair of rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter when Will King scored on a 6-yard run, and David Adeleke plowed into the endzone for a 1-yard score.

Defensively, safety Carl Garnes and linebacker Jordan Cry collected seven tackles apiece. Nose tackle Antoine McCray came away with four tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack, whereas Johnny Windham notched the game's lone interception.

"McCray had a really productive spring," said Farrier. "I thought our front seven in total did a really good job. Some of our better players play in the secondary and not as many plays were breaking out and getting into our secondary for Carl Garnes and 'DJ' [Darius Johnson] to come down and make plays, which means it's being taken care of up front before it gets to them. Those guys defensively had a very productive spring and are learning and getting better at what we do."

"There were a couple of good run plays -- Eric Harrell had a good day with the one big run and had a couple other productive runs where he hit some holes pretty good and showed some patience at times -- kind of sorting through some things. Up front, I thought our offensive line played well. There were a few injuries with Mike Lynn and Matthew Thompson late in the scrimmage, but I think those guys are going to be fine. Our linemen played a bunch of snaps and I thought they held up pretty well in the first full-go contact scrimmage where we ran almost 100 plays."

Farrier also spoke about the atmosphere of the spring game and the upcoming season.

"I thought the crowd was excellent. For a school our size to have almost 700 people at a spring game -- concession stands going -- there was some excitement when we ran our play with Devin [McConnell] -- you heard the crowd make a bit of noise up there."

"I thought it was outstanding to have that number of people come out and support our spring football game at the FCS level here at Morgan State. There are some major college programs that probably didn't have as many people in the stands for some of their games. I think Saturday's spring game was a great start to getting the excitement started and everybody going. get the opportunity to start the season here in Baltimore on the road at Towson, only 15 minutes away, and then come home to play at home for our second game. We basically get two home games to start the season."

Morgan State embarks on the 2017 season when the Bears take on Towson at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Sept. 2. The Bears' schedule features five home games in Hughes Stadium, including meetings with non-conference opponent Rutgers and a Homecoming matchup against Savannah State on Oct. 14.

Fans can keep up-to-date with all MSU Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/MorganStBears. You can also become a fan of the Bears on Facebook at Facebook.com/MorganStateBears.

Bear Notes
The third quarter also featured a spectacular play by Morgan State's rookie Devin McConnell. The 12-year old caught a screen pass from Eligah Staley and raced down the sideline accompanied by a caravan of blockers. When it was all said and done, McConnell had covered 75-yards for a touchdown and rode a wave of players in the endzone for the ensuing celebration. WATCH

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Players Mentioned

#21 Jordan Cry: LB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior

#89 DuShon David: WR; 6' 3"; Junior

#2 Carl Garnes: DB; 6' 1"; Junior

#11 Brian Gentry: WR; 6' 3"; Junior

#4 Eric Harrell: RB; 5' 9"; Senior

#25 Darius Johnson: DB; 6' 0"; Junior

#71 Mike Lynn: OL; 5' 11"; Junior

#99 Antione McCray: DL; 6' 2"; Junior

#12 Alex Raya: K; 5' 11"; Junior

#74 Matthew Thompson: OL; 6' 4"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#21 Jordan Cry
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior
: LB

#89 DuShon David
: 6' 3"; Junior
: WR

#2 Carl Garnes
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DB

#11 Brian Gentry
: 6' 3"; Junior
: WR

#4 Eric Harrell
: 5' 9"; Senior
: RB

#25 Darius Johnson
: 6' 0"; Junior
: DB

#71 Mike Lynn
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OL

#99 Antione McCray
: 6' 2"; Junior
: DL

#12 Alex Raya
: 5' 11"; Junior
: K

#74 Matthew Thompson
: 6' 4"; Senior
: OL