STATESBORO, Ga (Sept. 3, 2022) -- The debut game of Morgan State head coach Damon Wilson wasn't what he hoped for.
The Bears hung in there early and often in the first half. But the miscues Morgan made proved costly as host Georgia Southern rode the arm of Kyle Vantrease to the tune of 367 passing yards in a 59-7 win over the Bears on Saturday night at Paulson Stadium.
In the first-ever meeting between the schools, Vantrease, a transfer from Buffalo, completed 29 of 46 passes and tied the school record with four touchdown passes as Georgia Southern opened the Clay Helton era. For the game, Eagles outgained Morgan in total offense 504-250.
It was a back and forth affair early. Georgia Southern (1-0) got things started when Vantrease had his pass deflected off the back of Kaleb Coleman and into the hands of OJ Arnold for a 4-yard touchdown.
Morgan (0-1) answered when Jordan Toles, an LSU transfer, took an overthrown pass from Vantrease and returned it 50-yards to tie the game at 7-7 for the Bears first score of the season. It was the first interception return for a Bear since DJ Trigg recorded a 57-yard pick-6 against Norfolk State in 2018.
The Bears' Carson Baker was intercepted by Tyler Bride near midfield, which eventually led to a 20-yard Alex Raynor field goal to help reclaim the lead. The Eagles rounded out the first half scoring when Vantrease found Derwin Burgess in the corner of the endzone for a 12-yard strike to take a 17-7 lead into the intermission.
Alfonzo Graham carried the offensive load for the Bears for most of the night. The senior finished the night with a game-high 106 yards on 14 carries and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. He also led the Bears in the passing game with three catches for 27 yards.
The second half of play was all Eagles. Georgia Southern cashed in on six of eight drives en route to scoring 42 points.
Kaleb Hood took a screen pass from Vantrease and had a caravan of blockers as he turned on the burners for a 46-yard score to increase the lead to 24-7 with 10:11 remaining.
Jalen White surged into the endzone for a 4-yard TD to increase the lead to 31-7 with 4:52 left in the third quarter, and revisted the endzone when he scored on an 8-yard run early in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 38-7.
Morgan's backup quarterback Duce Taylor entered the game and was picked off by Isaac Walker on his second pass of the night. It would lead to an 8-yard TD pass from Vantrease to Jeremy Singleton (12:47). Gerald Green bounced off of a Bear defender to tack on six more with an 8-yard TD to extend to a 52-7 lead.
Taylor threw his second pick of the night that led to another Eagles score when Arnold took a handoff and bounced off defenders to increase the lead and cap the scoring barrage at 59-7 with 6:43 remaining.
In his first start for the Bears, Baker completed 10 of 21 passes for 78 yards, including an interception. Erick Hunter led the Bears defense with nine tackles. Bryan Stukes added seven stops and Lawrence Richardson added six tackles.
NEXT UP:
Morgan State will face Towson (1-0) in non-conference action on Saturday (Sept. 10) at Johnny Unitas Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast by Maryland Public Television (MPT) and WEAA, 88.9FM. The game will mark the fourth of the "Battle for Greater Baltimore" series between the teams. The Tigers have won four straight in the series, including a 31-0 road victory in 2021. This year's contest begins a new six-year contract through 2027.
BEAR NOTES:
- Freshman Daniel Casillas made his collegiate debut as the Bears starting center
- Morgan's offensive line limited the Eagles to one sack
- Morgan had 10 different receivers with receptions
- The Bears converted just 2 of 13 first downs
- The Bears committed seven penalties for 59 yards, while the Eagles were flagged just three penalties for 34 yards
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE
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• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more.
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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.
