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NORFOLK, Va. — Junior wide receiver Jamar Johnson (Norfolk, Va.) had a career-high seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and the Norfolk State defense shut down Winston-Salem State's offense in the second half as the Spartans capped their regular season with a 23-20 win on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.

NSU (8-3), which still hopes for an at-large bid into the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs, achieved the program's first eight-win season since the 1984 team went 10-2 in the CIAA (D-II).

Johnson's first TD catch, a 15-yarder from Casey Hansen (Norco, Calif.), put the Spartans ahead for good at 16-13 with 37 seconds left before halftime. His second, a 21-yarder from Hansen in the third quarter, gave NSU a 10-point cushion that it would need later in the game.

WSSU cut its deficit to 23-20 when Keith Newton sacked Hansen and forced a fumble. Rams' defensive end William Hayes recovered the loose ball and ran it in 24 yards for a TD with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.

But the NSU defense stiffened in the fourth quarter, allowing the Rams just two first downs. On the Rams' last drive of the game, quarterback Monte Purvis was pushed out of bounds at the Spartans' 43 by NSU safety Terrell Whitehead (Virginia Beach, Va.) one yard short of the first down on a 4th-and-10 run with just over a minute left in the game. NSU then ran out the clock.

The Spartans overcame a strong Rams' offensive effort in the first half with an opportunistic attack. On WSSU's first possession, Spartans' linebacker Marquez Davis (Newport News, Va.) forced Omar Kizzie to fumble, and NSU defensive back Dustin Johnson (Hampton, Va.) recovered at the Rams' 46. Eleven plays later, Daryl Jones (Richmond, Va.) ran in untouched from the 1 for his 15th touchdown run of the season. The extra point by Justin Castellat (Virginia Beach, Va.) gave NSU a 7-0 lead with 4:43 left in the first quarter.

The Rams countered on their first drive of the second quarter. Purvis found Bryant Bayne streaking down the right sideline for a 34-yard TD pass, capping a 74-yard march. But Matt Mitchell's extra point attempt was blocked by Anthony Olumba, and Whitehead returned it 92 yards for a defensive two-point conversion and a 9-6 Spartans' lead with 10:59 left in the half.

WSSU took a 13-9 lead less than one minute later. Purvis capped a three-play, 65-yard drive with a 12-yard TD run with 10:05 left before the half.

But NSU's special teams came through late in the second quarter. Josh Anderson (Chesapeake, Va.) blocked a Jamaine Mack punt, which Andre Twine (Chesapeake, Va.) recovered at the Rams' 15. On the next play from scrimmage, Hansen rolled to his left and found Johnson for their first TD hookup of the day.

The pair combined on 21-yard TD pass on the Spartans' second possession of the third quarter. Johnson's sixth TD catch of the season culminated a 10-play, 69-yard drive that gave NSU a 23-13 lead with 5:05 left in the period.

Johnson's 116-yard game was his first career 100-yard game. Hansen, one of 17 Spartan seniors playing their final home game, completed 24-of-41 passes for 221 yards, two scores and no interceptions. He has not thrown an interception in his last 117 pass attempts, and Saturday became the first NSU quarterback to top the 2,000-yard passing mark for two straight seasons since Aaron Sparrow in 1994 and 1995.

Jones, another senior, finished with 19 carries for 37 yards. He finished the regular season with 1,134 yards, third-highest in Spartans' history, and 15 touchdowns, tied for the third-highest mark in school history.

Davis led a staunch defensive effort for NSU with 12 tackles, one for loss, with one forced fumble and one QB hurry. He finished the regular season with a team-high 107 tackles. Cornerback Don Carey (Norfolk, Va.) had eight stops, 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage.

Purvis finished with 71 yards rushing and 88 passing for the Rams, and accounted for both WSSU offensive touchdowns. Jed Bines rushed nine times for 79 of the Rams' 234 yards on the ground.

The Spartans must now wait to see if they are selected for the 16-team FCS playoff field. The selection show is televised at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday on ESPNU. NSU has never advanced to the Division I playoffs, with its last playoff berth of any kind coming in 1984 in Division II.