RICHMOND, Va. — The Morgan State Bears upset the Richmond Spiders with a 17-10 victory at Robins Stadium Saturday evening. As the visiting team boarded the bus back to Baltimore, fireworks pounded the sky, a joyous celebration that wasn’t meant for them.

The University of Richmond’s football team, the Richmond Spiders, entered Saturday’s game with a 17-game home opener winning streak dating back to 2006 — but it ended that night.

Morgan State University’s Bears saw the opportunity and seized it, ending said win streak through a tremendous defensive-minded performance. 

With the win, the Bears not only ended the Spiders’ winning streak, they also ended their own 13-year home opener losing streak — their last opening win being a 30-27 home victory against Sacred Heart University in 2012. 

Though they were not for the Morgan football team, the fireworks nevertheless marked a priceless moment for them. This was a significant victory for the Bears, a team whose last official winning season was in 2009 (6-5). 

The university hired second-year Head Coach Damon Wilson to change the mentality of the program and provide a disciplined philosophy tied to winning in the future. His team featured a series of new faces, many of whom spent the summer in classes as well as the training room to prepare for this season.

The Spiders challenged the Bears. The Bears responded. 

“We really broke through the ceiling cap of what we thought we were getting ourselves into,” said Bears’ junior safety Bryan Stukes. “Winning this game means that we can accomplish so much more than we ever dreamed of.”

The Bears’ (1-0) defense held the Spiders to just 95 rushing yards and forced three turnovers during a humid summer night.

Morgan’s run defense prevented the Spiders from big running plays that could have turned the game’s tide in its latter half with the score tied at 10.

No matter what the Spiders did, however, the Bears’ defensive front continued to pressure Richmond quarterback Kyle Wickersham.

With the drive deep into Morgan’s territory at seven minutes remaining, he led his no-huddle offense from the shotgun and darted for a run attempt. Morgan’s defensive line swarmed and slammed him to the ground, sacking him for a two-yard loss. Wickersham fumbled and Morgan graduate linebacker Noah Washington recovered the ball on the 10-yard line, which set the Bears up for a go-ahead drive.

Morgan senior running back Jabriel Johnson crashed through the middle of Richmond’s defensive line to run a 10-yard touchdown. Junior kicker and punter Leary Beckett capped the touch down with a point conversion securing the Bears’ lead with six minutes left in the game.

The Bears’ defense and special teams held Richmond at bay for the remainder of the game. With two minutes and 24 seconds remaining, Morgan forced Richmond to punt. The Spiders muffed the punt, resulting in a turnover to the Bears, who ran down the clock to one second before returning the ball to their opponents. With no time and starting from their 24-yard line, the Spiders ran one play before the end of regulation.

Morgan’s defense had prevailed.

Graduate linebacker Lawrence Richardson and junior linebacker Erick Hunter had an outstanding day, both combining for 23 total tackles (Richardson: seven solo, five assists, 12 total; Hunter: four solo, seven assists, 11 total).

Richmond’s Wickersham finished 23 for 30 with 169 yards and one interception – which Ja’son Prevard, the Bears’ freshman defensive back, caught late in the first quarter.

This was freshman safety Sharieff Andrew’s first game and he expressed how he felt about getting onto the field. “This game meant a lot to me,” Andrew said. “A lot of people doubted us and we came out on top. That just means a lot to me.”

Offensively, the Bears’ quarterbacks struggled to get going. They entered the fray unsure of their place after a tightly contested three-man quarterback competition during their practices.

Graduate quarterback Carson Baker, who won the starting job in his second season, finished 5 for 8 with 68 passing yards and an interception before sophomore backup quarterback Dominique Anthony entered in the fourth quarter and finished the game 2 for 5 with 32 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

Despite this, the Bears managed to outscore the Spiders 10-3 in the second half and completely shut down their offense in the fourth quarter.

The Bears evened the all-time series with the Spiders at 1-1.

Wilson was proud to see this team get their first win of the season against a top-20 team as they played well on every side of the ball. “I’m just excited to see the guys have fun,” said Wilson. “We are looking forward to continuing to build upon that.”

Next Saturday, the Bears are scheduled to travel to Ohio to play against the University of Akron.

This article was updated Sept. 4, 2023 at 2:33pm.