The last time the Morgan State University football team was at home, they had to rely on late game heroics to walk away victorious. During Saturday’s the Bears stepped foot into familiar territory when, on their second-to-last offensive possession, redshirt Junior Moses Skillon kept a quarterback option to score the go-ahead touchdown from 8 yards out.
“We knew if we got the ball back with a little bit of time on the clock, then we’d put it in there and win the game,” said Skillon after the Bears 24-21 win over South Carolina State University.
Though Morgan State struggled with turnovers at inopportune times all game, they consistently managed to turn the option run on third or fourth down into a conversion with a pitch to sophomore halfback Herb Walker Jr. When it came to the final play, Skillon wisely held on to the ball that the Bulldogs defense expected to go to Walker and easily stepped into the endzone.
“I’m very proud of my guys,” said head coach Lee Hull in regards to his team’s second comeback win at home. “When we play hard for 60 minutes, we’re a pretty tough team to beat.”
The Bulldogs struck first on the afternoon with a one-yard run from halfback Justin Taylor, giving them an early 7-0 lead. Before the first quarter ended, redshirt Sophomore punter Lawrence Forbes faked a punt on fourth down to take the Bears into Bulldogs territory. However, during the next play Skillon threw a deep pass that was intercepted in the end zone for a touchback.
Morgan State did score 10 unanswered points to enter halftime with a lead, but South Carolina State fought back to go into the fourth quarter ahead 14-10.
A 17-yard pass from Skillon to senior running back Tracy Martin gave the Bears a three point lead, and the momentum needed at the time, until Antonio Hamilton of the Bulldogs returned the following kick 98 yards for a touchdown.
After a handful of stalled drives by both teams, the Bears had the ball on the Bulldogs 46-yard-line with just over two minutes left to seal the deal. “I didn’t expect to keep it first,” Skillon said of the final play. “I [saw] he jumped out there on Herb [Walker] because we’d been getting them every time on fourth down, so I just kept it and took it up inside.”
Even after the score, there was still a chance for the Bulldogs to pull their own miracle drive off with 56 seconds remaining. On the kick-off, though, they muffed the return in the end zone to force a touchback. Three plays later, senior defensive end Christopher Robinson sacked Bulldogs quarterback Adrian Kollock in the motion of throwing, and junior Joel Scott intercepted the pass to ensure victory for the Bears.
“I thank the Lord for my teammates,” Robinson said. “My other teammates did their job. I was in the right place in the right time thanks to the defense.”
With the victory, the Bears are now 5-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and 6-5 overall. Their final game of the season will be at home on November 22 against Delaware State University.
Photos by MSU Athletics
