Photo: SSU Tigers
MSU Sports Information
Morgan State will kick-off the season against Savannah State on Thursday, August 30 at Hughes Stadium.
SAVANNAH STATE “TIGERS” (0-0) vs.
MORGAN STATE “BEARS” (0-0, 0-0 MEAC)
FULLWOOD CLASSIC/YOUTH DAY
Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007 • 7:00 p.m.
Hughes Stadium (Capacity 10,000) • Baltimore, Md.
RADIO: Morgan State Radio Network WEAA - 88.9 FM: Rob Long (play-by-play) & Kelvin Bridgers (color).
"The Game" Overview - Weekly Release in PDF Format:
http://www.morganstatebears.com/Pdfs/foot/2007/8/27/vsSavannah%20State1.pdf
INTERNET: http://www.morganstatebears.com/ and/or www.savstate.edu/athletics
Setting the Scene
• Morgan State begins its 2007 football campaign when they host theTigers of Savannah State on Thursday, August 30 at 7 o’clock. The Bears enter the 2007 season predicted to finish in 6th place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) as head coach Donald Hill-Eley enters his sixth year at Morgan State. MSU returns 21 starters (10 offense, 8 defense, 3 specialty) from last year’s team that posted a 5-6 overall mark and finished the year ranked 4th in the conference. Headlining the list of returner starters for the Bears include All-MEAC RB Chad Simpson, All-MEAC WR Roderick Wolfe, QB Mario Melton and OT Dakarai Grimsley. MSU closed out the 2006 season with a 41-16 loss against South Carolina State at Hughes Stadium to deny the Bears of a .500 overall record.
• Savannah State is coming off a 2-9 record from a year ago under head coach Theo Lemon. Thursday night’s contest will mark the 5th meeting between the school’s with the Bears holding a 4-0 advantage in the series.
Photo: Morgan State University Bears• Donald Hill-Eley is 2-0 against Savannah State. In 2005 the Bears cruised to a 55-26 victory at the Proctor & Gamble Ohio Classic in Cleveland, Ohio. Not Ali Culpepper, and not even the great Leroy Kelly, who starred at Morgan State, then dazzled Browns fans in this city back in the 1960s, did what Jason Jackson did that Saturday. Jackson, a junior tailback from Oxon Hill, shredded the Savannah State defense for a school record 251 yards and four touchdowns Saturday to help Morgan to a 55-26 triumph, its first of the season. Doing most of his damage in the second half, Jackson exceeded Culpepper’s school mark of 229 yards set in 2001. Jackson scored on runs of 9, 90, 25 and 33 yards, exciting the crowd of 40,502 at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
• Theo Lemon enters his second season as head football coach for the Savannah State University Tigers. On April 10, 2006, athletic director Robert “Tony” O’Neal named Lemon the 20th head football coach at Savannah State University. Lemon completed his first season at the helm with a 2-9 record.
• WR Mark Williams will be one to watch as the Tigers get set to begin the 2007 campaign. Williams returns as the Tigers main target on offense and completed the 2006 season with 42 receptions for 522 yards and four touchdowns. Marc averaged just over 47 receiving yards per game.
MSU-SAVANNAH STATE SERIES
Overall, Morgan State leads the series, 4-0 since the series began in 2000. The closest game in the series came in the first meeting when the Bears won by a score of 12-6. Savannah State was shutout in the second game (26-0) and suffered a home loss (45-14) at Ted A. Wright Stadium. The Bears won the last contest at Cleveland Browns Stadium (55-26 in 2005) during the Proctor & Gamble Ohio Classic.
MSU - SSU TIES
Morgan State offensive line coach Chennis Berry graduated from Savannah State in 1996. Berry started as a tight end during his first two seasons with the Tigers before being moved to offensive tackle. He received All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First-Team selection during his senior season in 1994. Berry earned his first coaching job in 1995 when he was named the Tigers’ offensive line coach.
MSU D NUMERO 1 AGAINST THE RUN
Morgan State’s defense ranked No. 1 in the MEAC against the run. In his fi rst season as the defensive coordinator for the Bears, Alonzo Lee had his Bears defense ranked #1 against the run (117.0/g), #5 in scoring defense (22.0/g) and #6 in total defense (303.6/g). The Bears defense returns eight starters along with quality depth and should be one of the premier defenses in the league.
