Postgame Stats (PDF) |  Postgame Notes (PDF)

BALTIMORE, Md. (October 20, 2018) -- There was a lot of scoring back and forth in tonight's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rivalry game. But a 26-yard touchdown run by Howard running back Dedrick Parson and a two-point conversion gave the Bison a comfortable lead with 53.5 seconds remaining to defeat the Morgan State 35-26 Saturday night under windy conditions at Hughes Stadium. 

The Bears set the tone early, returning the opening kickoff deep into Bison territory. That would set up an Alex Raya 20-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead. 

On the Bears next possession, junior quarterback DeAndre Harris connected on a 12-yard playaction pass to freshman tight end Xavier Gravette. The Bears had a 10-0 lead with 5:31 remaining in first quarter. 

A fumble by Harris allowed the Bison to take over at the Bears own 22 yard line, which led to Howard quarterback Caylin Newton scoring on a 2-yard run. The Bison's extra point was blocked and returned by Donte Small to the end zone, but a holding call on the return nullified the score. The Bears held a 10-6 lead after a wild first quarter.

Early second quarter, Harris was picked off by Howard's Bryan Cook and returned for a touchdown. Despite another blocked extra point, Howard took their first lead of the game at 12-10. 

With 3:08 remaining in the half, Ricquaz Brannon for the Bison scored off of an option play, and the Bison scored on the ensuing two point attempt to give Howard a 20-13 lead.

But the Bears would strike back. Junior running back Josh Chase scored on a 22-yard run, the extra point was no good. The Bears trailed Howard 20-19 at the half. 

The Bears carried their momentum into the third quarter. Junior linebacker Ian McBorrough picked off Newton and returned the ball to the Howard 11 yard line. The Bears capitalized off the turnover when  Harris scampered into the endzone on five yard run. Morgan led 26-20.

A quick three and out by Howard got the ball back into the Bears hands.  

When it seemed like Morgan State was pulling away, a Chase fumble right before crossing the endzone on a 40-yard run eliminated a Bears touchdown. After review, the Bison took possession at their own 20.

The Bears stayed in the game but failed to score again.

Parson scored his first touchdown of the night on a 31-yard run to help the Bison regain the lead 27-26 with 7:07 left to go, before delivering the knockout punch to seal the game for the Bison. 

With costly mistakes and not getting into the endzone with good field position their first possession, the Bears left points on the field. 

Morgan State had a 26-20 lead and stopped Howard on a fourth-and-goal with 8:59 to play. But Howard (3-3, 3-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) held Morgan State deep in its own territory and took over at the Morgan State 31 after a short punt. Parson burst through the middle to score for Howard on the next play and Faraji Joseph's extra point put the Bison on top 27-26 with 7:07 to go.

Morgan State (2-5, 2-2) struggled to move the ball from there, and Parson scored again on a 26-yard run and ran in the 2-point conversion to cap the scoring with 53 seconds remaining.

Parson finished with 16 carries for 148 yards and two scores.

Joshua Chase ran 20 times for 115 yards and a touchdown for the Bears.