Setting The Scene
The Morgan State University football team will travel to Orangeburg, SC to face the Bulldogs of South Carolina State University. The Bears picked up its third win in four games by defeating Norfolk State and will look to record its fourth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win of the season when they face the ‘Dawgs. Kickoff from Oliver C. Dawson Stadium is set for 1:00 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast by WEAA Radio – 88.9 FM. The Results
· The Bears won its second consecutive game by dropping Norfolk State, 58-38, during the Spartans’ homecoming celebration in front of over 16,000 fans. The Bears were led by MEAC Player of the Year candidate Bradshaw Littlejohn. “Big Show” accounted for six touchdowns and led the Bears to 513 yards of total offense. Bradshaw completed 13-of-22 passes for 205 yards and rushed for 96 yards. He tossed a career-high four touchdowns, including a 50-yarder, in just three quarters of action.
· South Carolina State has posted a 21-11 record under 3rd year head coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough (S.C. State, ’75). The ‘Dawgs are currently ranked 2nd in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference standings, are coming off a 28-14 win against conference opponent Delaware State University. The ‘Dawgs enter Saturday’s match-up against Morgan State attempting to improve upon a 28-14 win against Delaware State last Saturday.
MSU’s Bradshaw Littlejohn improved upon his career highlight tape last week against Norfolk State. Bradshaw completed 13-of-22 passes for 205 yards and rushed for 96 yards. He accounted for six touchdowns (3 passing & 2 rushing), including a 66 yard touchdown run…all recorded in just three quarters of action. He helped the Bears’ offense finish with 513 yards as the Bears dropped Norfolk State 58-28. As a result of his performance Littlejohn earned MEAC Player of the Week Honorable Mention. Littlejohn remains atop the national rankings: scoring (5th 10.5/gm) and total offense (7th 295.8/gm); and atop the MEAC rankings: 1st passing 219.1/gm), 1st scoring, 1st total offense, rushing (6th 76.7/gm) and pass efficiency (4th 92.8). He continues to be a legitimate candidate for MEAC Player of the Year and All-American honors.
Series Notes -- Bears & ‘Dawgs
· Saturday's game marks the 31st meeting between the Bears and ‘Dawgs. The series began in 1971 when Morgan State came away with a 21-0 decision. South Carolina State leads the all-time series 24-5-1.
· Don Hill Eley holds a 1-1 record against the ‘Dawgs. Hill’s Bears fell to the ‘Dawgs in Hughes Stadium 27-21 in 2003, and won 17-14 in 2002 during homecoming festivities at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
· Morgan State wideout Kelvin Dickens enjoyed another productive day, as he recorded 5 receptions for a team-high 102 yards with two touchdowns to help lead the Bears to a 58-28 victory over Norfolk State. Much like QB Bradshaw Littlejohn, Dickens may well be on his way toward becoming an All-American selection. The speedster has been torching opponent secondary units all season and is currently ranked No. 8 in I-AA (#1 in the MEAC) in receiving yards per game (102.75/game). Through 9 games, Dickens has racked up 40 catches for 924 yards with 7 touchdowns. The junior just needs 76 yards to reach the 1,000 yard mark!
Quick Hits, Week Ten
· With its win against Norfolk State, Morgan State improved its overall record under Hill-Eley to 17-15.
· Morgan State wideout Tommy Manus has been productively quiet throughout the 2004 campaign. Manus (WR, 6-4, 210, Sr. Dallas, TX) had a team-high six receptions for 75 yards in the Bears win against Norfolk State and so far this season, “Taco” has collected a team-high 46 catches for 480 yards with five touchdowns. The senior is ranked 1st in the MEAC in receptions per game (5.1/game) and 10th in reception yards (53.3/avg). NFL.com has the senior wideout tabbed as one to watch when draft day comes around.
· A second look at the stat sheet for last season’s heartbreaker against South Carolina State shows that the Bears’ defense had a tough night as the S.C. State's ground game produced 278 yards and the ‘Dawgs offense finished with 459 total yards. RB Coty Martin finished with a game-high 155 yards on 12 carries and Jermaine Brown added 61 yards and touchdown. The ‘Dawgs averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
· The Bears succeeded running against the ‘Dawgs in their own right, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and finished the game with 226 yards on the ground.
· Morgan State enters the South Carolina State game averaging 36.8 points per game, while the ‘Dawgs are scoring 36.1 ppg.
· Through nine games in `04, the Bears are averaging 216 yards per game on the ground and are ranked No. 5 in the MEAC in rushing offense. Rookie sensation Jason Jackson is leading the way for the Bears ground attack. “Action” has recorded a whopping five 100-yard games and leads MSU with 158 carries for 827 yards including 5 touchdowns. He is currently leading the MEAC in rushing by averaging an incredible 118.1 yards per game. Last week he recorded 167 yards on 29 carries against Norfolk State.
Scouting the ‘Dawgs
· The ‘Dawgs are 6-2 and 3-1 in the MEAC after last weekend's 28-14 win at Delaware State. The ‘Dawgs are ranked No. 2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and No. 5 in the Sheridan Black College Poll (SBN).
· South Carolina State has won five of its last six games, and had a four-game winning streak stopped when they visited the Pirates of Hampton (Oct. 23).
· The ‘Dawgs are averaging 404.5 yards of offense per game and allowing 276.8 yards per game to its opposition. The one area the team has not struggled is in running the ball. The ‘Dawgs are averaging 231.1 yards per game. The Spartans are ranked 3rd in the MEAC in scoring offense (36.1), 2nd in scoring defense (18.9), 2nd in rushing offense and second in rushing defense (118.1).
· The ‘Dawgs offense is led by QB Brett Young (127-71, 9 TDs, 7 INTs, 176.2 avg.), RB DeShawn Baker (128-682, 5.3 avg., 8 TDs), RB Coty Martin (122-592, 4.9 avg., 6 TDs), WR Tavarus Morgan (34-444, 13.1 avg., 5 TDs) and WR Rondriekas Darby (19-372, 19.6 avg.).
· On defense, South Carolina State is led by LB Joel Taylor (52 tackles (30 solo, 2.0 TFLs, 1 INT, 1 FF), DBs Greg Brown (50 tackles (35 solo) 7 TFLs, 3 sacks, 2 INTs, 5 BrUps, 2 FF), and Dreak Pooler (42 tackles (15 solo), 4.0 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR).
· Morgan State win against Norfolk State was a milestone in the young career of head coach Donald Hill-Eley. The last time a Bear football team lit up the scoreboard for more than 58 points was back in 1969. The Bears defeated Hampton 74-3 under legendary head coach Earl C. Banks…the Bears finished the season with a 6-4 record.
· The last time Morgan State had a receiver collect over 1,000 yards in a single season was in 1993 when WR Jesse Humphrey recorded 1,071 yards. Kelvin Dickens needs just 148 yards to set a new school record…he currently has 924 yards with two games still remaining on the schedule.
