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NORFOLK, Va. – Howard defensive end Rudolph Hardie had three sacks among his five tackles for lost yardage, and Brian Johnson threw two touchdown passes to Jarahn Williams as Howard defeated Norfolk State 17-10 on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.

A homecoming crowd of 15,548 saw Howard (4-4, 2-3 MEAC) snap the Spartans’ five-game winning streak and deal NSU (6-2, 5-1) its first conference loss of the season.

Johnson connected on a 17-yard TD pass to Williams on Howard’s first drive for a 7-0 Bison lead. NSU tied the game on a 4-yard TD pass from Casey Hansen (Norco, Calif) to Jeremy Wicker (Quantico, Va.)with 5:35 left in the first quarter.

Howard out-scored NSU 10-0 in the second quarter to take a 17-7 halftime lead. John Mendoza kicked a 40-yard field goal after a short NSU punt with 6:41 left in the second quarter to give Howard a 10-7 lead.

On the Bison’s next drive, Williams made one of the biggest plays of the game. On 4th-and-1 from the NSU 47, Johnson’s sideline pass was tipped into the air. Williams snagged the deflection, eluded NSU cornerback Don Carey (Norfolk, Va.), and ran into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown. That gave Howard a 17-7 lead with 2:07 left before halftime.

The Spartans came out strong to begin the second half. They took the third quarter kickoff and marched 59 yards in 11 plays, with Justin Castellat (Virginia Beach, Va.) connecting on a 23-yard field goal to bring NSU within 17-10.

But Howard’s defense stiffened. NSU drove into Howard territory just once more, later in the third quarter, but was forced to punt. Their last possession ended when Jamar Johnson (Norfolk, Va.)fumbled at the NSU 34 with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter and Howard’s Theodore Graham recovered. NSU had just one timeout left, and was unable to prevent Howard from running out the clock.

The Bison sacked Hansen five times and held NSU to a season-low negative-15 rushing yards on just 17 attempts. Jarrett Burgess and Robert Parker added one sack apiece to complement Hardie’s big day.

NSU running back Daryl Jones (Richmond, Va.)played despite an illness and was held to a season-low four yards rushing on six carries. Hansen completed 17-of-32 passes for 206 yards. Johnson led NSU receivers with six catches for 82 yards.

Despite tallying just 314 yards of offense and 17 points, Howard held the ball for 40 minutes, 10 seconds.

Endor Cooper paced the Howard defense with seven tackles.

NSU linebacker Marquez Davis (Newport News, Va.) led all players with a career-high 16 tackles, and his twin brother Maguell Davis (Newport News, Va.)added 13. Anthony Olumba (Washington, D.C.)had eight tackles, three for losses, and one sack.

Despite the loss, the Spartans still control their destiny in the Division I FCS playoff race. NSU must win its last two games, at Morgan State on Nov. 3 and at MEAC-leader Delaware State on Nov. 10, to gain the school’s first-ever Division I playoff berth.