MEAC Football Update

By Uba Okerke

Norfolk State Remains Perfect in Conference Play

Norfolk State beat Hampton 34-24 last Saturday to remain unbeaten in Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play.

The Spartans (6-1, 4-0 MEAC) stormed out of the gates up 17-0 in the first half courtesy of two touchdown passes by Chris Walley of eight and 49 yards, respectively. Hampton’s only score came on a 10 yard touchdown pass by David Legree as time expired in the first quarter.

Norfolk State tacked on 10 more points in the second quarter to lead 27-7 at halftime.

The Pirates (3-3, 1-2 MEAC) started to chip away at the 20 point deficit in the second half. Legree threw another touchdown pass to Reginald Hicks, shrinking the NSU lead to 13 (27-14). It was the only score in the third quarter by either team.

Norfolk State’s 27-7 halftime lead was down to only three (27-24) after the Pirates scored another touchdown early in the fourth quarter and a field goal four minutes later. Randy Maynes increased the Spartans lead to 10 (34-24) with a 14 yard touchdown run with 7:43 left remaining in the game.

NSU’s Keenan Lambert intercepted Legree’s pass on fourth and 20 which ended any chance of a Hampton comeback and sealed the win for the Spartans.

Walley completed 20 of 35 passes for 265 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Maynes rushed for 72 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown.

Legree passed for 193 yards for Hampton.

NC A&T Thumps Delaware State, Improves to 3-0 in MEAC

North Carolina A&T routed Delaware State 42-24 last Saturday to keep pace with first-place Norfolk State in the MEAC standings. The win comes a week after snapping a seven game losing streak to defending conference champion Bethune-Cookman.

The first half was all Aggies, starring running back Mike Mayhew. He scored three of A&T’s four first half touchdowns of one, 19 and 11 yards, respectively.  They led 28-0 late into the second quarter before Delaware State scored on a field goal as time expired. Aggies led 28-3 at halftime.

The Hornets (2-5, 0-4 MEAC) opened the second half with consecutive touchdown drives to cut the deficit to 28-17 with 5:57 left in the third quarter. NC A&T (4-2, 3-0) answered three minutes later with a 27 yard touchdown pass from Larry Raper to Lewis Kindle to lead 35-17 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Aggies finally put the game out of reach with another Raper touchdown pass to now lead by 25 (42-17) with 9:35 left in the game.

DSU scored the final points of the game with a Jashawn Jones touchdown run.

North Carolina A&T rushed for 247 yards on 46 carries including 128 yards from Mayhew and three touchdowns. Kindle passed for 173 yards and three touchdowns.

Nick Elko completed 30 of 50 passes for 319 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Delaware State.

SC State Rallies in Second Half to Upend Georgia State

South Carolina State defeated Georgia State 23-13 Saturday in a HBCU vs. 1-AA Independent showdown.

Points were at a premium in the first half as both teams traded field goals in the first and second quarter. Georgia State took a 6-3 lead into halftime on two Christian Benvenuto field goals of 23 and 40 yards.

SC State (4-3) scored the first touchdown of the game on a four yard run by QB Richard Cue. The Panthers (1-5) soon answered a few plays later with a nine yard by Donald Russell to lead 13-10 with 6:22 remaining in the quarter.

Blake Erickson gave the Bulldogs a 16-13 lead with two field goals of 34 and 32 yards heading into the fourth quarter.

SC State scored on another touchdown run by Cue with 1:20 left in the game to increase the lead to 23-13 and ensuring the win for the Bulldogs.

Cue passed for 213 yards on 16 completions and rushed for 45 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns for SC State.

Georgia State as a team rushed for 244 yards but committed three turnovers which were all interceptions.

Okereke is a contributing writer for Regal Black Men's Magazine, a publication dedicated to the African American community.