bailey
Lawrence Johnson
Sophomore wideout Manassah Bailey had five catches for 95 yards.
49
Winner NCAT NCAT 4-0 , 1-0
17
MORGAN STATE MSU 0-4 , 0-1
Winner
NCAT NCAT
4-0 , 1-0
49
Final
17
MORGAN STATE MSU
0-4 , 0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
NCAT NCAT 14 21 7 7 49
MSU MORGAN STATE 0 0 7 10 17

Game Recap: Football | | Keith Henry Special to MSU Athletic Communications

Bears Drop MEAC Opener to #15 N.C. A&T, 49-17

BALTIMORE, Md. -- The Morgan State Bears came into this game looking to get on the scoreboard. That mission was a success. But the Bears couldn't secure the win in their MEAC 2017 debut, falling 49-17 to #15 North Carolina A&T at Hughes Stadium Saturday night.

The Aggies got on the board 50 seconds into the game when Marquell Cartwright rumbled into the endzone from 72 yards out, giving them a 7-0 lead. Then on their next possession, N.C.A&T quarterback Lamar Raynard threw the first of his three touchdown passes to Elijah Bell from 15 yards out to help build the Aggies advantage to 14-0 with 9:27 left in the first quarter.

North Carolina A&T (4-0, 1-0 MEAC) continued to light up the scoreboard in the second quarter when Raynard found Jamari Smith with a nine yard touchdown pass with 7:39 left. The Aggies were able to convert on two key third & long plays during that drive. Then later in the quarter, Raynard found Elijah Bell again in the endzone. This time, it was with a 31 yard touchdown pass which found Bell at the two yard line and he waltzed on in from there. It further extended the lead to 28-0 with 1:29 left in the first half.

Then the Bears were immersed in a drive to paydirt towards the end of the first half. However, the Aggies' Franklin McCain had other ideas. McCain intercepted Elijah Staley's pass to the endzone and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown with no time on the clock. That helped boost the lead to 35-0, which was the halftime score.

But once the second half began, the Bears finally got something positive going and it paid off. Staley threw a beautiful 83 yard pass to Brian Gentry who ran it in for a touchdown with 13:58 remaining.

The bench and the crowd exploded with joy. Almost half the bench got on the field in celebration, which drew a 15-yard penalty. But they weren't too concerned about it at the time. "Anytime you can find a way to score, especially when we haven't scored in the first three games, it's a positive," said MSU head coach Fred T. Farrier about getting on the scoreboard. The Aggies still led 35-7.

The Aggies answered when Jamari Smith ran the ball in the endzone from 14 yards out. That was Smith's second touchdown of the night. That helped make it 42-7 with 12:41 left.

Morgan State (0-4, 0-1 MEAC) started the fourth quarter scoring with a Luke Ursanel 40-yard field goal with 14:40 left to cut the deficit to 42-10. Then on the Aggies' ensuing possession, Jai Franklin recovered a fumble and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown to help further cut the deficit to 42-17 with 12:32 left in the game. Franklin said about the scoring, "I believe scoring has boosted our whole team. Guys were excited for the first time this whole season. It gave us energy. It gave us life."

Then the Aggies wrapped up the scoring when McCain struck again. This time, he picked off Staley and returned it 78 yards to the house with 9:07 left.

Staley completed 17-of-39 passes for 303 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Brian Gentry (3 rec., 95 yds). Staley was also picked off three times by cornerback Franklin McCain, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

The Bears enter the bye week before preparing to play South Carolina State on Friday, Oct. 6th in an ESPNU televised matchup in Orangeburg, S.C. It will mark Morgan State's first road game against the Bulldogs since 2013.

Bear Bits
Rico Kennedy led the Bears' defensive efforts with a game-high 10 tackles. The sophomore linebacker also sacked Raynard and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Jai Franklin. 

Elijah Staley's 303 passing yards is the first time an MSU quarteback has thrown for over 300 yards since Moses Skillon threw for 327 yards against Florida A&M on Nov. 11, 2015.

Morgan State honored members of the 1967 Undefeated CIAA Championship football team at halftime.

 
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