The Morgan State Bears (4-7) lost 35-6 to the Howard Bison (5-6) in their last game of the season at Hughes Memorial Stadium.

The game Saturday also was dedicated to Veterans and was senior night for the football team’s seniors. 

The Morgan State Bears were shut down offensively and had defensive breakdowns leading to their seventh season loss.

Review the top five takeaways from Morgan’s seventh loss of the season.

Lack of Passing Game

The Bears had only a total of 67 passing yards, while The Bison had a total of 245 passing yards. 

Sophomore quarterback Roderick Walker completed four passes on 13 attempts for 35 yards. Sophomore quarterback Duce Taylor completed four passes on 12 attempts for 32 yards. 

Neither quarterback threw an interception. 

The Bears relied on their run game to put up a fight against the Bison.  

Strong Rushing Game

The Bears dominated the ground game. 

Senior running back Alfonzo Graham was successful with 25 carries for 111 yards and an average of 4.4 yards per carry. 

Though Graham ran the ball for most of the game, junior running back, Jabriel Johnson had seven carries for 23 yards. Johnson averaged 3.3 yards per carry.

The Bears had 134 total rushing yards compared to the Bison’s 124 rushing yards.

Shut Down on Offense

The Bears could not move the ball against the Bison and did not score until the fourth quarter.

In the first quarter, the Bears looked like they were going to score a touchdown or field goal but were stopped on third and fourth at 6:50 seconds in the first quarter. 

Taylor threw an incomplete pass on third and fourth, which looked like a promising drive for the Bears to get points on the board.

Special Teams 

The Bears had 146 total return yards, while the Bison had 40 return yards. 

The Bears received the ball first to start the game.

With just 15 seconds into the first quarter, sophomore wide receiver Andre Crawley returned the ball for 26 yards to put the Bears into good field position.

Weak Defense 

The Bears gave up 35 points to the Bison. 

The defensive backs were getting pummeled the entire game and gave up 245 passing yards. 

At one point, The Bison had a three-play drive for 65 yards. 

After neither team could move the ball, Howard senior quarterback Quinton Williams completed a pass to senior wide receiver Antoine Murray for 53 yards at 8:04 in the first quarter.

Later in that same drive, Williams completed a 13-yard passing touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Nah’Shawn Hezekiah with 6:57 left in the first.

Finale

The Morgan State Bears finished their season with a 4-7 record under their new coach Damon Wilson and considerably improved from their 2-9 record in the fall 2021 season.

The Bears football team will return in fall 2023.