WASHINGTON (October 23, 2021) – The Howard University football team rebounded from a three-touchdown deficit to score 28 second half points, but in the end, Norfolk State (NSU) had too much offense and experience as it held off the Bison, 45-31, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game at William H. Greene Stadium before an overflow homecoming crowd of 10,437.
 
The loss snapped a two-game win streak for Howard (2-5, 1-1 in thee MEAC) while Norfolk State (5-2, 1-0 in the MEAC) extended its win streak to five.
 
Howard fell behind early when Norfolk State senior quarterback Juwan Carter put together a 13-play, 68-yard drive on its third possession and take a 7-0 lead.
 
The Bison appeared to answer the Spartan drive with one its own, but Howard junior quarterback Quinton Williams (Upper Marlboro, Md.) suffered the first of two interceptions.  The talented, senior talent-laden Spartans took advantage this time with a 75-yrd drive that was capped off by a one-yard push from Jeff Woods that upped the score, 14-0, at the 11:41 mark of the second quarter.
 
"When you play a veteran team like that with a really good quarterback, those are the kind of mistakes that you just can't afford to make," said Howard head coach Larry Scott, alluding to the two interceptions.
 
 
Feeling a sense of urgency, the Bison were finally able to get on the board before halftime on a Faraji Woodson (Greensboro, N.C.) 38-yard field goal and trail, 14-3, at intermission.
 
Norfolk State came out of the locker room and sent a strong message to begin the second half, taking its first possession 76 yards on only six plays with Kevin Johnson capping it off.
 
The Spartans built on their lead a little over two minutes later when Christian Ruffin returned a blocked Howard punt from four yards to build 28-3 lead.
 
Anyone who has followed the Howard football team, knows that the Bison are never out of a game. The Bison answered with Williams' one-yard dive at the 6:30 mark of the third period, making it 28-10.
 
The Spartans, who piled over 500 yards of total offense, continued to keep the pressure on and added a Josh Nardone 31-yard field goal after a long 14-play drive that used almost eight minutes off the clock.
 
That is when the Bison woke up and began its comeback.
 
Junior running back Ian Wheeler (Houston) took the Norfolk State kickoff, found a seam and weaved his way to a 96-yard TD to get within 31-17 with a little less than 14 minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter.
 
It was the second longest kick return for a TD in school history, trailing only Harvey Reed's 99-yarder in 1984 and Curtis Chappell duplicated it in 1985.
 
Suddenly, the Spartans sideline, which had started a celebration began to get anxious.
It became even more interesting when Wheeler scored again, this time on an 18-yard run following a forced fumble.
 
Wheeler rushed for 89 yards and touchdown while accounting for 119 yards and a TD on kick returns.
 
Norfolk State gathered itself and calmly reeled 80 yards on eight plays to up the margin to 38-24 with 6:23 on the clock.
 
But the Bison have developed a reputation of never say die. Williams took his team 74 yards on only five plays in less than two minutes to creep to within 38-31 with 4:26 still left on the clock.  Williams completed 13-of-22 for 170 yards and a TD.  
 
"We talk about it all the time, it's never over until there are four zeros on the clock," said Williams. "And as you build the foundation of a football program, it is the idea that the game is never over and that we never quit. There's no roll over and quit in this team. I told them all week that it is going to be a heavyweight fight. The ability to keep believing and to keep playing, which is something I'm proud of with this team."
 
But the Spartans were not to be denied their first MEAC win as thee unflappable Carter engineered a five-play, 76-yard drive that took almost three valuable minutes off the game clock Carter, the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, justified his status, completing 26-of-29 for 332 yards.
 
Sensing victory, Norfolk State amped up its defense and sacked Williams on back-to-back plays to take over on downs and run out the clock.
 
 "We fought all the way down to the end," Williams stated. "We just ran out of time and made too many critical mistakes early in the game."
 
GAME NOTES: The Bison rushed for season-high 204 yards against the top-rated run defense in the MEAC...Howard travels to Dover, Del., next week to take on the Hornets in a MEAC showdown against Delaware State Saturday (Oct. 30) at 1 p.m...sophomore Kenny Gallop (Portsmouth, Va.), the leading tackler in the conference, added 14 more for today's game...his mates junior Ray Williams (Detroit/12) and senior Aaron  Walker (Washington/10) combined for 22 total tackles.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.