September 21, 2013 – CHICAGO – In the battle of 0-2 teams, someone's O had to go, at the 16th Annual Chicago Football Classic, played at legendary Soldier Field.
When the final buzzer sounded, it was Morehouse (1-2) that drew first blood in the matchup against CSU, the SIAC's newest member.
Freshman quarterback Monqavious Johnson stepped up big time in his first college start, throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for another, as Morehouse beat the Central State University Marauders, 42-20.
Johnson, who played well in last week's loss to Lane, again threw two touchdown passes to Devon Mann, and finished 10-of-18, for 184 yards.
The Freshman Sensation continued to impress fans and coaches, with quick decisions and accurate passes that moved the chains a season-high 507 yards. When he wasn't passing, Johnson extended drives and picked up first downs with his legs. He rushed for 108 yards, on 9 carries, for a whopping 12 yards-per-carry average.
His first touchdown pass – a 12-yard strike – jump started the Morehouse scoring barrage. On the second, Johnson found Mann wide open in the middle of the field, for a 74-yarder, the longest connection of the season.
Running back Shelton Hamilton joined the list of top performers, with two rushing touchdowns, of 3 and 7 yards. He mauled the Marauders with 155 yards, on 27 carries.
On defense, the Morehouse defense dialed up the pressure, holding the Marauders to two field goals, in a game that wasn't as close as the score.
The only two CSU touchdowns came within a few minutes of each other and were the result of back-to-back Morehouse mistakes. The first was a blocked punt returned for a 20-yard score.
The second came via a Johnson errant pass that was picked off, as he threw the ball away to avoid a sack.
The two miscues gave the Marauders their only lead, at 17-14.
That lead was quickly erased by a 90-yard return for a touchdown by Thomas Williams, on the ensuing kickoff. After fielding the ball cleanly on the 10-yard line, the speedy Williams weaved his way untouched into the end zone.
A 21-yard CSU field goal pushed the halftime score to 21-20.
In the second half, Morehouse was relentless on both sides of the ball, keeping Central State off the scoreboard and tacking on 21 unanswered points.
A fired up Morehouse defense didn't allow the Marauders anywhere near the end zone.
Linebacker Jamil Irvin-Muhammad led the Morehouse defense, with a game-high 15 tackles, to go with a forced fumble and recovery.
Linebacker/punter Temitayo Agoro and defensive lineman Brandon each collected a sack and Lance White made 9 tackles.
Richard Sanders and Thaddeus Shaw combined for 12 tackles, to bolster the defensive assault.
Morehouse will play its home opener against Edward Waters College, Saturday, at 7 p.m., at B.T. Harvey Stadium.
