BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 17, 2022) -- Morgan State was looking to avoid an 0-3 start to the season and bounce back from a tough loss last week at Towson.
Senior running back Alfonzo Graham stepped up and sophomore quarterback Duce Taylor did just enough to put away visiting Sacred Heart in the end on a sunny afternoon at Hughes Stadium.
Taylor, who came off the bench, threw for a touchdown, while the running game posted a pair of scores and the Bears defense kept the Pioneers out of the end zone for almost the entire contest. The result was a 24-9 win that sends the Bears into their bye week with not only their first win of the season, but also Damon Wilson's first win as Morgan's head coach.
The Bears avenged last season's 27-7 loss at Sacred Heart and improve to 2-1 in the series between the teams. The win was also Morgan's first home opener win since Oct. 10, 2015, when they dropped Savannah State 42-3.
Taylor wound up 5 of 13 for 61 yards, including a touchdown and an interception, while Baker finished with 76 passing yards on 8 for 19 completions.
Taylor spoke about his play off the bench.
"My motto is, stay ready so that you don't have to get ready," he said. "So for me, it wasn't anything new. Just be ready at all times and do what I do best, and that's playing ball."
"We came in the game knowing that we were going to play Duce early," said Wilson. "Duce came in and led the team to a score and we ended up putting him in again in the second half."
"He got comfortable," Wilson added. "The game slowed down for him a bit. He hasn't had a whole lot of playing time, but he had an opportunity today to get some snaps under his belt, and the game slowed down for him, and he executed at the end when he needed to."
Alfonzo Graham, one of the top running backs in the league, finished with 13 carries for 74 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that extended the Bears lead to 24-2.
Jabriel Johnson added 40 yards on 11 carries and scored his first touchdown of the season when he plowed 4-yards into the endzone at the start of the third quarter.
Taylor connected with wideout Avery Jones for a 12-yard TD to push the lead to 10-0 tin the opening moments of the second quarter. The score capped a 13-play drive that consumed over 5 minutes.
The Bears have a bye week before they play host to non-conference opponent Virginia-Lynchburg on Oct. 1 at Hughes Stadium.
The defense made life difficult for the Pioneer quarterback Marquese McCray and company. The defense limited Sacred Heart to just two points through the first three quarters and stopped the offense on third down 12 of 14 times and on fourth down all five times.
The cornerback duo of senior Jae'Veyon Morton and Carlvainsky Decius each intercepted McCray once.
"We played four quarters," said junior outside linebacker Lawrence Richardson, who finished with a team-high 10 tackles and two quarterback hurries. "We stuck to our keys and did what we were supposed to do."
Sophomore outside linebacker Nana Asante finished with five tackles, including 3 1/2 for loss, and junior safety Jordan Toles and sophomore defensive end Elijah Williams had nine tackles each.
"I think we played almost a complete game," said Wilson. "We still got some penalties defensively that we want to eliminate to get teams off the field on third down. But all in all, I thought it was a great defensive effort throughout the four quarters."
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
