EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey -- The Bears and Bison put on quite a show at the 42nd Annual Urban League Classic, but it was a Chris Moller field goal late in the fourth quarter that helped give Morgan State a 38-35 victory over Howard on Saturday.Moller's 38-yarder sealed Lee Hull's first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win and improved the Bears record to 2-2 overall. It also marked the most points scored against Howard since a 38-20 win against the Bison on Oct. 19, 2002.
Morgan State ran 10 plays and marched 65-yards during the opening possession of the game. MSU quarterback Robert Council hooked-up with Thomas Martin for a 34-yard pass play that helped setup a 1-yard touchdown run by Herb Walker Jr. Moller's extra point gave the Bears the early 7-0 lead with 12:18 remaining in the first quarter.
Council was back it orchestrating the Bears next scoring drive. The Camden, S.C. product had a sensation play in which he rolled left and then cutback across the grain for a 44-yard run. Four plays later Council scored on a 2-yard keeper to put the Bears up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
Morgan was off to a great start with16 plays and two touchdowns in the early going.
Council finished the day by completing 13 of 22 passes for 168 yards, including a pair of touchdown tosses. He also had 14 carries for 90 yards on his way to being named the Classic's Most Valuable Player.
The Bison's offense got into gear toward the end of the first quarter.
Howard (1-3, 0-1) quarterback Greg McGhee connected with Matt Colvin for a 55-yard toss behind the Bears' secondary to put the Bison within striking distance. Three plays later McGhee play-faked and walked into the endzone for a 3-yard touchdown. John Fleck's point after cut the lead to 14-7.
McGhee engineered a 14-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with his 1-yd TD to help tie the ballgame at 14-14 with 4:56 remaining in the half.
McGhee, the 2013 MEAC Player of the Year, did just about everything for the Bison. He threw for 229 yards (16-35) and finished with 74 rushing yards and three TDs.
The Bears got a spark from their defense during Howard's first possession of the third quarter when senior linebacker Cody Acker picked off McGhee to help give the Morgan the ball deep in Bison territory.
It only took the Bears six plays and just under 2 minutes to find paydirt when Walker scored on a 4-yard for a 21-7 lead.
Walker, who entered today's contest ranked No. 5 in the FCS in rushing yards per game (153.3 ypg) finished with a game-high 141 yards on 32 carries.
The Bears pushed the lead on its next possession when Martin was on the receiving end of a 17-yard TD pass by Council in the back of the endzone. The score capped an 11-play, 88-yard drive and seemed to really put Morgan in the drivers seat with a 28-14 lead with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bison responded with another long, time-consuming drive, this time William Parker scored on a 1-yard run. Orlando Johnson raced the ensuing kickoff 82-yards to help give the Bears excellent field position. Three plays later Council completed a screen pass to Walker for a 17-yard TD to extend to a 35-21 lead to end the quarter.
However, Howard was far from finished and scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
McGhee scored on a playaction bootleg and ran in from 4-yards out to help trim the lead to 35-28. And William Parker sidestepped a tackle for a 10-yard touchdown run to complete a 12-play, 73-yard drive to tie the game at 35 with 2:27 left to go.
Johnson recorded another big play for the Bears special teams unit when he posted a 35-yard return on the ensuing kickoff to help set up the game-winning field goal by Moller.
Notes:
• The Bears had a 100-yard rusher for the fourth game in a row
• Herb Walker Jr. finished with his third straight 100-yard game
• Orlando Johnson recorded the longest kick return of the season
• Herb Walker rushed for his third straight 100-yard game
• Christopher Robinson led the Bears with 8 tackles and two sacks
• Cody Acker added 8 tackles and an interception
• Thomas Martin led the Bears with four receptions for 75 yards and a TD
• The teams combined for 854 yards of offense; Morgan had 435, while Howard finished with 419.
• The 38 points was the most by the Bears since scoring 44 points against Savannah State on Oct. 8, 2011.
COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
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