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NORFOLK, Va. — Chris Bell (Norfolk, Va.) caught four passes for 138 yards and a pair of long touchdowns, and the Norfolk State offense rolled up a season-high 520 yards of offense in a 41-6 homecoming win over Howard on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.
Howard (2-6, 0-5 MEAC) scored the game’s first points on a 30-yard pass from Floyd Haigler to Willie Carter with 4:40 left in the first quarter. But the stout NSU defense did not allow anything else, while the Spartans (4-4, 3-3) scored the final 41 points of the contest to register their first homecoming win since beating Howard in 2005.
Haigler’s TD throw to Carter capped a 12-play, 87-yard drive. But Bell caught TD passes of 51 and 64 yards from quarterback Dennis Brown (Miami, Fla.) on the Spartans’ next two possessions. Justin Castellat (Virginia Beach, Va.) connected on 2-of-3 field goals in the second quarter, covering 27 and 31 yards, to send NSU into the half with a 20-6 lead.
The NSU defense dominated the second half, allowing Howard just 36 yards in the final two quarters. The Spartan offense wore down the Bison defense, holding the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the second half behind a bruising running game. Brown scored the only touchdown of the third quarter on a 2-yard run, which capped a seven-play drive.
The Spartans padded their lead with two more scores in the fourth quarter. Fullback Josh Alford (Chesterfield, Va.) scored his second touchdown in as many weeks, a 1-yard plunge with 9:43 left in the game. After forcing a Bison punt, NSU appeared to score its first special teams touchdown of the year on a 58-yard punt return by P.J. Hayden (Fredericksburg, Va.). The score was called back due to a penalty, but on the first play of the ensuing drive, the Spartans capped their scoring with a career-long 37-yard TD run by Donovan Cotton (Tampa, Fla.).
NSU gained 520 yards while holding Howard to 155. NSU rushed for a season-high 294 yards. DeAngelo Branche (Norfolk, Va.) had a season-high 129 yards on 19 carries. Cotton had a career-high 79 on just nine rushes, and Brown had 66 on 12 carries.
Brown also completed 12-of-21 passes for 226 yards and the two scores to Bell. Brown accounted for 292 yards of total offense.
The 138 yards are the second-most for Bell this season and marked his third 100-yard game of the season. Hayden added five receptions for 75 yards for NSU.
Linebacker Anthony Taylor (Virginia Beach, Va.) led a solid all-around defensive effort with nine tackles, 2.5 for loss, and half a sack. Nose guard Josh Turner (Chesterfield, Va.) also had 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. The Spartan defense registered 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Haigler completed 14 of 29 passes for 136 yards. He was also Howard’s leading rusher, with 17 yards on nine carries. The Bison managed just 24 carries for 19 yards, a Spartan opponent season low.
The Spartans hit the road for their next two games, starting next Saturday at Morgan State. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at Hughes Stadium in Baltimore, Md.