Philyaw Comes Up Big in Win Over Del State on Senior Day

Washington, D.C. -- Anthony Philyaw rushed for a school-record 281 yards and two TDs and William Parker added 107 and two more to lead Howard to a 26-21 win over Delaware State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference finale at Greene Stadium. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Bison (2-9, 2-6 in the MEAC) while the Hornets (0-11, 0-8 in the MEAC) finished the season winless.

Philyaw, a junior from Redondo Beach, CA, who came into the game needing 51 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time in his career, set the tone early when he capped off a 97-yard drive with a 45-yard burst off the right side that gave his team the early 7-0 lead.

The Hornets had perhaps a future Philyaw in freshman running back Mike Waters, who accounted for all of the yards in 49-yard drive six minutes to tie the score at 7.

On a day when passing was not an option with the wind gusts, both teams stuck to the ground game. On Howard's next possession, William Parker began to get into the act when he finished off a 64-yard drive with 54-yard jaunt. The PAT failed but the Bison led, 13-7.

Philyaw was at it again when he finished off a six-play, 80-yard drive with 23-yard dash at the 9:52 mark of the second quarter.

Delaware would come right back with a drive of its own and it was Waters again, this time from 43 yards to make it 20-14 Howard at the half.

The Hornets made some adjustments to start the second half and it paid off as they held Howard and Philyaw in check enough to take the lead for the first time in the game at 21-20 at the 8:04 mark of the third quarter.

From there, the Bison put together plays to help decide the outcome. First there was a career-best 72-yard punt by Damon Gillespie that changed the field position and pinned the visitors at their own one-yard line and forcing a three-and-out.

Howard took advantage of the field position with eight plays, the last a seven-yard run by Parker that closed out the scoring.

Waters, who finished with a school-record for a freshman with 224 yards on 30 carries and two TDs, was unable to find the holes in the Bison defense in the fourth quarter.

With the defenses and the wind gusts dictating the game plans, the Howard defense dug in and made the plays.

And when they needed to play keep away, it was Philyaw and Parker who supplied the big runs that moved the chains. Philyaw finished the season with 1,132 yards and 9 TDs.

The 281 yards breaks the old record of 260 held by former All American Harvey Reed in 1987. The 107 was a season best for Parker, who was honored along with 17 of his teammates in the Senior Day presentation.

Ghafona Iduwe, playing in his last game in a Howard uniform, came up big 12 tackles, 10 of them solos and a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.

Seniors Marques Blanchard (4 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a sack) and Jalen Day (4 tackles, one for a loss) and junior linebacker Elijah Anglin (7 tackles, a tackle for a loss) all took turns securing the win by holding Delaware State scoreless in the fourth quarter.

HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION