NORFOLK, Va. - The Spartans (1-8, 1-2 MEAC) play their final home game of the 2022 season Saturday when they host N.C. Central (7-2, 3-1) on Military Appreciation and Senior Day. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium.
 
OPENING KICKOFF
• Norfolk State dropped to 1-8 on the season with a 49-24 loss at North Carolina A&T last Saturday in Greensboro.
• The Spartans fell behind 21-0, but battled back to within a touchdown with a strong showing in the middle quarters. Jaylan Adams scored on a 2-yard run and Otto Kuhns threw a 41-yard TD pass to Collis Pride to bring NSU within 21-14 in the second quarter. In the third, Kuhns scored on a 1-yard run and Grandin Willcox kicked a season-long 46-yard field goal to keep NSU in it.
• But the Aggies outscored NSU 14-0 in the fourth quarter to seal it. Bhayshul Tuten scored four total touchdowns, three rushing and one receiving, for N.C. A&T.
• North Carolina Central handed Howard its first MEAC loss by a 50-21 score last week in Durham, putting the Eagles in the driver's seat for the MEAC's Celebration Bowl bid. With a win this week, NCCU will clinch no worse than a share of the MEAC regular-season title, and regardless of what Howard does next week, NCCU would represent the MEAC in the Celebration Bowl.
• Quarterback Davius Richard passed for 281 yards and three touchdowns and added 104 rushing yards with two more trips to the end zone against Howard. He threw TD passes of 73 yards to E.J. Hicks and 64 to Devin Smith.
• Richard, the preseason All-MEAC first-team quarterback, leads the conference in total offense (289.9 ypg) and passing yards (221.8 ypg) and is third in rushing (68.1 ypg). He has accounted for 31 touchdowns - 20 passing and 11 rushing.
• As a team, NCCU also ranks second in the MEAC in total defense and first in rushing defense.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• NCCU leads the all-time series with NSU, 11-7. The former CIAA rivals will be meeting for the ninth time as D-I opponents this week.
 • After splitting their first 10 meetings in Division II, NCCU has won six of the eight meetings since 2013.
• NCCU won the teams' last meeting, 38-36, in two overtimes last year in Durham. NSU led 21-0 early in the second quarter, but the Eagles scored the game's next 24 points to take control. A 32-yard Josh Nardone field goal with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter sent the game into overtime.
• Both teams scored two touchdowns in OT, but the Eagles stopped NSU's two-point try in the second overtime while converting their own to win it.
• J.J. Davis ran 18 times for 217 yards and three touchdowns for NSU.
 
SENIOR SWAN SONG
Today marks the final home game for eight Spartan seniors. They are:
• DB Stuart Anderson Jr. - Fifth-year Spartan and Mathews, Virginia native has played in 44 games in his career with 74 tackles, 2.5 for loss, two interceptions and four pass breakups. He was an All-MEAC third-team pick last season.
• OL Egan Atkins - First-year Spartan is a transfer from Grambling State. He has played in two games for the Spartans this year and is an INT major.
• OL Jeremiah Bolling-Farrar - Another first-year Spartan, Bolling Farrar has started twice and been a special teams mainstay this year on the offensive line.
• DL Imani Bey - A native of Washington, D.C., Bey has amassed 21 tackles, four for loss, and 2.5 sacks over two years with NSU since transferring from VMI.
• OL Colby Byrd - A preseason All-MEAC first-team pick and last year's All-MEAC first-team center, Byrd has started all but two games over the last two seasons while serving as an offensive captain.
• LB Marquis Hall - Hall has ranked among the MEAC's top 10 in tackles each of the last two years. He was a preseason All-MEAC first-team selection this year and was voted to the All-MEAC second team last year. His career totals include 162 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
• DB Brandon Savage - Savage is a fifth-year Spartan who was an All-MEAC first-team selection last year. The Baltimore native has played in 39 career games at NSU with six interceptions, 122 tackles and 13 pass breakups.
• DB Justin Toler - A native of Falmouth, Virginia, Toler was a preseason All-MEAC second-team selection. Toler tied for second in the MEAC with three interceptions last season. In his career, he recorded 55 tackles, three interceptions and three pass breakups.
               
GETTING HIS KICKS
NSU freshman kicker Grandin Willcox has made the most of his opportunities in the kicking game this year. In addition to making all 16 of his extra point tries so far, he is also 3-of-4 on field goals this year. That includes a career-long 46-yarder last week at N.C. A&T, the longest field goal by a Spartan since Cameron Marouf hit a 51-yarder in 2014.
 
TYLER TALLIES TACKLES
NSU junior Tyler Long has been racking up the tackles of late. More on the standout linebacker:
• Long is second in the MEAC and 42nd in all of the Division I FCS with 79 total tackles in nine games.
• He has reached double figures four times, with 11 at Marshall, a then career-high tying 12 against St. Francis, a career-high 13 at Sacred Heart and 10 against Howard.
• Long also leads NSU and is 10th in the MEAC with 3.0 sacks on the year.