Thriller has happy ending: NSU Spartans 1-0 in the MEAC

By VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, The Virginian-Pilot

Wow.

This time, Norfolk State found out what it’s like to be on the winning end of a thriller against Bethune-Cookman, stunning the Wildcats 38-31 on Saturday at Price Stadium.

In doing so, the Spartans produced arguably their biggest victory since moving up to Division I a decade ago.

“We’re 1-0 in the MEAC; that’s never happened,” said coach Pete Adrian, whose Spartans had lost all nine of their conference openers prior to Saturday. “Had we lost, it would have been, 'It’s the same old Norfolk State.’”

For even the most devout Spartans fan, ill-timed penalties and costly turnovers had to conjure up bad memories of past years, including the last two games against the Wildcats, which NSU lost by a total of three points.

This time, celebration replaced heartbreak with the Spartans rallying from 12 down in the second half to score 15 fourth-quarter points. That included a two-point conversion to tie the game, a Terrell Whitehead interception to save the game, and Daryl Jones’ fourth touchdown of the day to win the game on legs so hobbled, two teammates carried him off the field.

“There’s really no words for this,” Jones said after emerging from an ice bath in the training room.

Photo: Norfolk State’s Daryl Jones, right, fends off Bethune-Cookman’s Ben Ballard en route to one of his four touchdowns Saturday.

A 33-yard Bethune-Cookman field goal put the Wildcats on top 31-23 with 7:30 remaining, but the Spartans pulled even for the first time all afternoon on a seven-play, 53-yard drive. The highlight: a 45-yard completion from Casey Hansen to Dario Walker on third-and-16, NSU’s longest pass play of the season.

“I knew we had to take a shot deep,” said Hansen, who completed 12 of 24 passes for 153 yards. “I thought Dario had his man beat and I just went for it.”

Five plays later and aided by defensive pass interference, NSU scored with Jones bulldozing in from a yard out. The big back had been sidelined for all but one play of the drive, slowed by cramps in both legs on a humid afternoon in which the temperature soared close to 90 degrees.

“Daryl’s just a moose; he’s 5-10, 242 pounds, got that low center of gravity and as hard as he runs, he’s hard to tackle,” Adrian said.

“I knew my team needed me,” Jones said.

NSU (2-1, 1-0) also needed two more points for the tie. On the conversion, Hansen bailed out of Plan A, meant for Jones, who was covered in the flat. Instead, he found Jamar Johnson, whose catch knotted it at 31 with 3:49 left.

The Wildcats (2-2, 0-2) started on their own 22 on the ensuing kickoff, but Kempsville High graduate Whitehead picked off Jimmie Russell’s soft floater over the middle on the third play from scrimmage. Whitehead ran it all the way back, but a clipping call placed the ball on the 7 and allowed the Spartans to work the clock.

After R.J. Waters got the call on the first three plays, an exhausted-looking Jones trotted in to the delight of the 12,736 giddy fans with time ticking down. He needed 1 yard and got it, lifting NSU to its first lead of the afternoon with 36 seconds on the clock.

Though Jones looked too tired to celebrate – teammates Sherron Childress and Tommy Moore ran onto the field to carry him off – the Spartans couldn’t contain their glee.

“It’s been nine years since we’ve beaten Bethune-Cookman, so this is a huge win for us,” Hansen said. Actually, the Spartans’ last win over the Wildcats was 21-7 in 1997.

The Wildcats, who had squandered all their timeouts, had a final gasp when Corey Council returned the kickoff to the NSU 43. A 27-yard completion gave Bethune-Cookman a first down at the 19, but Russell didn’t have time to get another play off.

Bethune-Cookman played without rusher Justin Brannon for all but one play of the second half. The Wildcats’ starting B-back, who finished with 11 carries for 53 yards, is integral to his team’s “Wyattbone” offense, dubbed for coach Alvin Wyatt. Using crutches on the sidelines, Brannon favored his right knee, and Wyatt’s offense, which produced 163 rushing yards after one half, was limited to 63 in the second.

“That hurt us,” Wyatt said. “The other players we had weren’t experienced enough to get the job done.”

Speaking of hurt, Jones has five days to heal before NSU’s Thursday night meeting with North Carolina A&T. His expression still pained a half hour after the final whistle, he thought about it a moment when asked if this was the biggest win of his four years at NSU before answering, “It will be.”