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PISCATAWAY, N.J. – For 30 minutes Thursday night, the Norfolk State football team stood toe-to-toe with Rutgers of the Big East. But two Scarlet Knights' touchdowns in a span of 2 minutes, 10 seconds in the third quarter proved to be too much for the Spartans to overcome as Rutgers took a 31-0 win in the season-opener for both teams in front of 46,311 fans at Rutgers Stadium.
Led by a spirited defensive effort, NSU (0-1) trailed just 6-0 at the half. But a short touchdown run by Joe Martinek, followed shortly thereafter by a blocked punt returned for another score, spurred the Scarlet Knights onto victory.
The game started inauspiciously for NSU, which was held three-and-out on its first drive. Rutgers then marched 45 yards in 11 plays and settled for a 31-yard San San Te field goal for the game's first points with 7:30 left in the first quarter.
NSU picked up a pair of first downs to start its next possession as Chris Walley (Tallahassee, Fla.) connected with Victor Hairston (Martinsville, Va.) for 18 yards and Jeremy Wicker (Quantico, Va.) for 21 yards on consecutive plays. A pass interference penalty on the Scarlet Knights helped NSU get a third first down, this one inside the RU 20. But the drive stalled at the Rutgers 13 as Walley fumbled a second-down snap which was recovered by RU's Eric LeGrand at the 17-yard line.
Walley hooked up with Hairston again on a 48-yard pass play on the first play of NSU's next drive, but Ryan Estep (Chesapeake, Va.) missed a 39-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter as RU held onto the lead.
The Spartans' defense remained up to the challenge in the second quarter, allowing just a controversial last-second field goal at the first-half buzzer. The first-half clock appeared to run out after a 29-yard pass from Tom Savage to Mohamed Sanu down to the NSU 2-yard line. But the referees allowed Rutgers to snap the ball on a 20-yard field goal try by Te, which he nailed through the uprights for a 6-0 Scarlet Knights lead going into the half.
Rutgers' offense finally picked up some momentum midway through the third quarter as the Spartans started feeling the effects of the humid conditions, with the pregame temperature hovering close to 90 degrees. On a drive in which six Spartans went down due to cramps, the Scarlet Knights moved 75 yards in seven plays, capped by a 6-yard touchdown run by Martinek, to extend their lead. Sanu ran in the two-point conversion to make it 14-0 with 7:55 left in the period.
NSU was held three-and-out on its next possession when Rutgers added to its momentum. Brandon Bing blocked a Troy Muenzer (Long Beach, Calif.) punt and Joe Lefeged scooped it up and ran it in for a 3-yard touchdown that gave the Scarlet Knights a 21-0 lead with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Savage hit Sanu on a 10-yard TD pass with 8:27 left in the game to extend the lead to 28-0. Te split the uprights for a 27-yard field goal with 4:40 to go for the final scoring margin.
Martinek led RU with 20 carries for 109 yards. The Scarlet Knights outgained NSU, 422-156, in total offense. Rutgers held a 194-127 edge at the half.
NSU's offense was led by Hairston, a junior wideout and converted running back making his first career start. He led all players with five catches for 82 yards. Walley was 11-of-23 passing for 131 yards.
Defensively, NSU's inside linebacker tandem of Corwin Hammond (Louisville, Ky.) and Anthony Taylor (Virginia Beach, Va.) combined for 22 tackles. Hammond had a game-high 12 stops, two for a loss, and one sack. Taylor had 10 tackles and one sack.
NSU will be back in action next week when the Spartans host North Carolina A&T Sept. 11 at William “Dick” Price Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 4 p.m.
