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College Football returned this past weekend for the first full slate of games, and the D.C. metro teams came out 1-1 to start the season.
Maryland took down Towson 38-6 in College Park while Howard fell on the road in the opener 33-23. Here’s a quick look at both games and what’s next for Maryland and Howard.
Head Coach: Mike Locksley (5th season, 22-28 record at Maryland)
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Last Week’s Result: Def. Towson 38-6 on 9/2/23
Highlights HERE
Up Next: vs. Charlotte on 9/9 @ 7:30 p.m.
Player to Watch: Taulia Tagovailoa
It was dominance for the Maryland Terrapins in the 2023 opener on Saturday.
The Terps hosted Towson in College Park and jumped on the Tigers right away en route to a dominant 38-6 win.
In the opening quarter, Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa scored three touchdowns, running one in on a 23 yard carry, while tossing two more, one on a 23 yard pass to Corey Dyches and a 24 yard pass to Jeshaun Jones.
Dyches finished as the top Maryland receiver with 108 yards on 6 catches and a touchdown.
Maryland’s rushing attack was highlighted by Roman Hemby, who scored the Terps only touchdown of the second half on a 9 yard run. Hemby finished with 72 total yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Maryland recorded two sacks and did not allow a touchdown without forcing a turnover. The team allowed just 276 total yards of offense and had a 21-0 lead before allowing Towson’s first points.
Up next, the Terps host Charlotte, who last week took down South Carolina State 24-3.
It’ll be a battle of defenses who did not give up a touchdown in their opening game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in College Park on Saturday night and the game will be broadcast live on NBC.
Head Coach: Larry Scott (4th season, 8-17 record at Howard)
Record: 0-1 (0-0 in MEAC)
Last Week’s Result: Lost @ Eastern Michigan 33-23 on 9/1/23
Highlights HERE
Up Next: vs. Morehouse on 9/9 @ 7:00 p.m.
Player to Watch: Eden James
What was on the way to being a blowout opening game loss for Howard turned out to be a gritty comeback by the Bison that came up short.
In Friday’s opener on the road against Eastern Michigan, Howard fell behind 23-0, surrendering a safety, a kickoff return for touchdown, and both a rushing and passing score.
In the second quarter, the Bison got on the board on a 69 yard touchdown pass from Quinton Williams to Jamarr Ebron. Williams finished with 194 yards passing and 2 touchdowns.
By halftime, Howard was in a 30-9 hole and needed a big second half to get back into the game. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened.
Two touchdowns by Kasey Hawthorne, including a 2 yard rushing touchdown and a 23 yard reception from Williams, cut the deficit to 30-23 entering the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, however, the Howard offense never entered Eastern Michigan territory and the game was put on ice with a late field goal to seal a 33-23 Eastern Michigan win.
Special teams killed the Bison in the game. The Howard defense only gave up two touchdowns and just three points in the second half.
It was a safety and two kickoff returns for touchdowns that sealed their fate in the opener. The second of which came right after Howard’s first touchdown, immediately taking a 23-6 game and making it 30-6 midway through the second quarter.
Howard will have a chance to ‘get right’ in the home opener on Saturday against Morehouse College, a Division II opponent from Athens, GA.
Morehouse lost its first game to Virginia Union 45-13 and will give Howard an opportunity to get back on track before the Truth and Service Classic on September 16 at Audi Field in D.C.