NORFOLK, Va. | The Norfolk State University football team had two opportunities in the final minutes to upend Virginia State in the annual Labor Day Classic on Saturday afternoon. However, both opportunities fell just short as the Trojans escaped with a 33-24 victory at William "Dick" Price Stadium. 

"I want to apologize to our fans," Norfolk State head coach Dawson Odums said. "We have to do a better job in preparing our team. You make the biggest adjustments from Week 1 to Week 2 and we have to be ready to go because we have another game next week." 

Norfolk State (0-1) started out of the gate quickly, taking advantage of a Virginia State turnover. 

A fumble by Zyshawn White-Muhamed gave NSU the ball at the Trojans 36. Six plays later, Lex Henry busted through the middle for the 4-yard touchdown score as the Spartans grabbed a quick 7-0 lead with 12:11 remaining in the opening quarter. 

However, the lead was short lived as Upton Bailey went 80 yards for the score, tying the game at 7 with 11:34 left. 

On NSU's next drive, the Spartans moved the ball to the VSU 18, but Grandin Willcox's 35-yard field goal attempt was wide left, keeping the score tied at 7. 

After a VSU punt, Norfolk State went 45 yards in 10 plays, capped by a 26-yard field goal by Willcox as the Spartans grabbed the 10-7 lead with 4:09 remaining in the first period. 

On the ensuing kick, Kymani Clarke fumbled the ball and was recovered by AJ Richardson at the VSU 13.  

Norfolk State cashed the turnover into seven points as Otto Kuhns connected with Henry for 13 yards as the Spartans pushed the lead to 17-7 with 2:37 left. 

Virginia State (1-0) trimmed the margin to 17-13 after Clarke scored a 16-yard touchdown run, capping an 8-play, 90-yard drive with 14:09 remaining in the first half. 

After a NSU punt, the Trojans grabbed their first lead of the day (20-17) with just over 10 minutes to play when Malik Hunter caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Steve Williams. 

Norfolk State took the opening kickoff of the second half and went 57 yards in 13 plays with Andre Pegues hauling in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kuhns, putting the Spartans back on top, 24-20 with 8:45 left in the third. 

The scored remained 24-20 until early in the fourth when Williams scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, capping an 11-play, 66-yard drive with 13:21 left. 

The Trojans tried to run out the clock, but were forced to punt the football as NSU set up shop of its own 39 with 2:49 remaining. 

Norfolk State pushed the ball into the Red Zone and on fourth-and-1 from the VSU 4, Kuhns was stopped, turning the ball over to Virginia State with just 59 seconds left. 

The Spartans burned their final two timeouts and with six seconds remaining, VSU called a timeout. Instead of punting the football, the Trojans elected to try to run out of the clock as Bailey was stopped short of the first down marker with 1 second left, turning the ball back over to the Spartans with an opportunity to potentially tie the game. 

But just when it appeared the game was headed to overtime, the snap of the field goal attempt was high as Dante Clark picked up the loose ball and sprinted 77 yards into the end zone as time expired. 
 

CHECKING THE BOX SCORE 

• Norfolk State finished with 17 first downs  
• The Spartans amassed 304 total yards of offense, including 166 through the air 
• Lex Henry paced the ground attack with 71 yards on 20 carries, along with one touchdown 
• Otto Kuhns went 10-of-27 passing for 166 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception 
• Aaron Moore was targetted 15 times, catching four passes for 63 yards 
• Andre Pegues hauled in three passes for 83 yards, with one score 
• Noah Tracey punted the ball three times for 122 yards, averaging 40.7 yards per punt 
• AJ Richardson led the defense with nine total tackles, including five solo stops 
• Norfolk State went 4-for-7 in red-zone chances 
• Virginia State finished with 22 first downs 
• The Trojans registered 487 total yards of offense, including 316 on the ground 
• Upton Bailey recorded 184 yards on the ground on 18 touches and one score 
• Steve Williams went 13-of-19 passing for 133 yards and one touchdown 
• Malik Hunter caught four passes for 35 yards and one score 
• Chantz Baylor led the defense with nine tackles, including seven solo stops 
• Virginia State went 3-for-4 in red-zone chances 

NEWS & NOTES 

• Saturday's game was the first time these two teams met since 2019 
• With the win, Virginia State extended the series lead to 31-22-2 all time 
• The NSU loss halted the Spartans' win streak in the series at two games 
• Attendance for the Labor Day Classic was announced at 21,640 
• Norfolk State suffered its first loss to VSU since 2017 
   

UP NEXT 
Norfolk State takes to the road next Saturday as the Spartans play their second rivalry game in as many weeks. NSU travels to Hampton for the annual Battle of the Bay showdown at Armstrong Stadium. Kickoff against the Pirates is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on FloSports.  

For complete coverage of Norfolk State Athletics, please follow the Spartans on social media at @NSUSpartans (Twitter), /NorfolkStateAthletics (Facebook), @NSUAthletics (Instagram), @nsuathletics (YouTube) or visit the official home of Norfolk State Athletics at nsuspartans.com.