BALTIMORE, Md. - Morgan State quarterback Nader Furrha led a steady offense that managed the time of possession and posted three scoring drives, including two touchdowns of over 30-plus yards. During their intrasquad scrimmage Saturday morning at Hughes Stadium, the Bears showed the potential for defensive dominance as well.
"The biggest thing is that we've been competitive on both sides of the ball," head coach Donald Hill-Eley said of the scrimmage. "As a coaching staff, we're trying to make sure our assignments and tempo are up to par.”
“I think we did a good job with our line play, both offensively and defensively, and I think we completed the scrimmage with just one turnover, so it's definitely a plus that we are protecting the football. Again, I really think we were competitive on both sides of the ball and we like the efficiency. But there's still things we'd like to fix on both sides of the ball."
The Bears will still attempt to use their versatile options to continue their success in scoring quickly. And that starts with MSU's junior quarterback Donovan Dickerson. Dickerson completed 8-of-16 passes for 85 yards while working with the first-team offensive unit.
Hill was asked about the quarterback play of Dickerson and Furrha. “You still have two guys that can move the offense, and quarterback is a whole different animal when it comes to the game. Their play today shows that they can move the offense and they're competitive enough to get us in the endzone.”
Furrha, a transfer from Riverside C.C., finished the day 9-of-16 for 138 yards with two touchdowns. His TD toss wrapped up his second drive of the morning, a 30-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Chuka Okakpu. The eight-play, 80-yard march was highlighted by a 40-yard reception from senior wideout Tyrone Hendrix and a 10-yard touchdown carry by junior tailback Travis Davidson.
Jourdan Brooks led the Bears in rushing by carrying the ball 17 times for 75 yards, including a scrimmage-best 15-yard scamper. Davidson finished the scrimmage with 12 carries for 66 yards.
A 56-yard field goal attempt by newcomer Ervin Gonzalez was blocked by Collin Bing to end first half action of the scrimmage.
"We had a lot of improvement in some areas and we have a lot of work to do in others," Hill said. "Just picking up from last scrimmage, I felt like the tempo was much better by the offense. The administration was much better. We had some nice throws and we had a lot of good drives."
ALONZO LEE, Defensive Coordinator (on Saturday's scrimmage)
“We did some good things, but we still have a couple weeks of preparation to get ready. We're playing with great enthusiasm and we just have to tighten up the small things. We had some technique mistakes and we had a couple of mental mistakes, but we have some new guys that are just learning the system. They have to become better students of the game and we'll be we're we need to be in that first weekend of September. We have the makings of an outstanding defense; we just have to buy into discipline. Discipline wins you two additional wins each year, and it's no doubt about it that if we buy into discipline we're going to be something to deal with.”
Morgan State's defense forced a fumble and made some solid plays inside the redzone. Sophomore defensive back Joe Rankin had two touchdown breakups. Allen Singletary recorded two of the defense's 10 sacks. Zary Stewart, Justin Young and Bakari Smith were responsible for a couple of tackles for loss.
The Bears' final tune-up scrimmage is scheduled for Thursday at Hughes Stadium. The scrimmage is set to begin at 6 p.m.
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