The Norfolk State Spartans beat the Towson Tigers 21-14 in a run-heavy game. Kevon King led the way with 11 attempts and 97 rushing yards. Starting quarterback Otto Kuhns passed 5 for 13, 38 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception, a very lackluster day in the air but Kuhns made up for it on the ground, 10 rushing attempts for 70 yards.
The Spartans had their best rushing game all season with 350 yards. This is also the second most in program history. The weather in Towson, Maryland was 61 degrees, with moderate rain and 15-mile-per-hour winds which played a heavy part in the Spartans rushing attack. The Spartans wasted no time at the beginning of the game by forcing a turnover on downs in their territory defensively and offensively kicking off the drive with a 55-yard pass from Wideout Aaron Moore to Tight end Jayden Homuth on an unexpected trick play.
That was not all from the Standout Grad Student, Aaron Moore capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown catch from Otto Kuhns. After a Tiger 3-in-out, the Spartans gave the ball right back on an interception thrown by Otto Kuhns. Two drives after the Tigers punched in the endzone making the score 7-7 leading into halftime.
The Spartans shifted into another gear in the second half, Kuhns rushed into the open field for a 67-yard touchdown, the longest rush in his career. After another 3-and-out forced by the Spartans defense, Jaylen white rushed for a 16-yard touchdown putting the Spartans in the driver’s seat with a 21-7 lead.
At the beginning of the Fourth Quarter, the Tigers moved the ball to midfield setting up for a great drive, and the Spartans shifted the momentum back with an interception from Terron Mallory. The Grad students first interception as a Spartan. After 2 lackluster drives from each team, the Tigers fought back with a 10-yard rushing touchdown from Devin Matthews making the score 21-14 with 5:02 left in the game.
With the game on the line, NSU’s wideout Jason Wonodi took an end-around handoff for 41 yards putting the Spartans in Tigers territory. Ultimately this would not be enough to put the Tigers away, they fought back forced a turnover on downs, and got the ball back with 2:12 left with 70 yards to go. The Tigers drove down into NSU territory and after an enormous number of penalties from both teams which put the Tigers at the 17 yard line, with three seconds left the Spartans batted the ball down to end the game 21-14.
The Spartans move on to 2-2 after this win, sweeping their CAA (Coastal Athletic Association) opponents for the 2023 season. The Spartans return home to face longtime MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) opponent North Carolina A&T after three straight away games. The game kicks off at 2 p.m. at William “Dick” Price Stadium on Saturday, September 30.
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