NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — After eight straight weeks of football, Norfolk State wanted to go into its bye week with a win in its back pocket.
The Spartans showed the fight to claim that victory, but couldn't hold off Towson in the final 15 minutes on Saturday.
Two touchdown passes from Sean Brown in the fourth quarter helped get the Tigers back into the lead and ultimately prevail 28-23 over the green and gold at Dick Price Stadium.
Despite the pair of scoring passes, the Norfolk State defense held its own against a CAA team that knocked off top 10 ranked William & Mary just one week before. AJ Richardson recorded a dominant 18 tackles, 4 of them for loss, 2 sacks, and an interception in the game.
With Jalen Daniels still not ready to play, freshman Vinson Berry started his first career game and went 14-for-31 for 196 yards. He hit on one scoring throw, a 43-yard connection with Elyjah Mitchell in the third quarter to give the Spartans a 16-14 advantage.
The scoring started for the home team down 7-0 in the second quarter. Kevon King sprung loose for a 58-yard touchdown to tie the game up. The Chesapeake native would rush for 102 yards in the game.
A Grandin Wilcox field goal would give Norfolk State the 10-7 lead before Brown connected with John Dunmore on a short touchdown pass to make it 14-10. The Tigers had a chance to add to the lead before the half, but Jayden Smith would record the first of his two interceptions to stop the threat.
Smith's second pick would help give the Spartans a chance to retake the lead, which they did on the Mitchell touchdown grab.
However, that's when the visitors hit on all cylinders. Brown would hit Jaceon Doss for an 11-yard scoring strike to start the final period and give the Tigers a 22-16 lead. With 10 minutes left to play, Brown would again connect on a touchdown throw. This time tight end Carter Runyon made a leaping grab in the back of the endzone to extend the advantage to 28-16.
Failing to score on its next drive, Norfolk State needed its defense to deliver and it did. Richardson picked off a pass which and brought it back into Towson territory. After the two minute timeout, King would hammer in his second touchdown of the game from the one-yard line to bring the game to 28-23. With all three timeouts in their possession, the green and gold needed just one stop but couldn't get it. Towson would ultimately run the clock out to escape the 757 with a win.
Norfolk State falls to 2-6 with the loss heading into the bye week. The Spartans return to action on October 26 with its homecoming game against Howard.
