FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Despite a tremendous effort from its defensive unit, the Norfolk State football team could not complete a late rally at Sacred Heart on Saturday, falling 10-3 at Campus Field.
 
NSU defensive lineman Sage Beuchert-Irvine racked up a career high nine tackles against the Pioneers, including a tackle for loss. AJ Richardson and Kaleb Broadbent followed closely behind with seven and six tackles, respectively.
 
Norfolk State punted quickly on its first two possessions, failing to get any significant movement on the offensive end. Sacred Heart made some progress on its second opportunity, resulting in a chip-shot field goal from 36 yards out.
 
Making one of his first appearances of the season, sophomore wideout Nolan James took an outside handoff swiftly to the sideline for a 33-yard gain. The Spartans couldn't turn the swing into points, though, throwing an interception at the goal line.
 
Sacred Heart mustered its second scoring of the game, solely through a powerful ground game. The Pioneers logged a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive composed only of rushing attempts to take a 10-0 lead.
 
Starting quarterback Jalen Daniels took a big hit midway through the second quarter, forcing true freshman Vinson Berry to take the first snaps of his collegiate career. The Atlanta native scrambled to complete his first pass attempt, a nine-yard gain to Kam'Ryn Thomas.
 
Back-to-back sacks from there, however, resulted in another punt by the Spartans. Norfolk State went into the half trailing 10-0.
 
A roaring wind helped the Spartans on a 37-yard Sacred Heart field goal attempt early in the third quarter, as the ball spiraled away from its target. Norfolk State leapt at the good fortune, as tailback X'Zavion Evans ripped through the middle for a 53-yard gain on the team's first offensive play of the second half.
 
The Spartans could not move forward from there, but Grandin Willcox cleaned things up by knocking down a 42-yard field goal to put NSU on the board.
 
Sacred Heart took nearly five minutes off the clock when it got the ball back, but the Norfolk State defense remained strong to keep the Pioneers out of Spartan territory.
 
Berry connected with wideout Elyjah Mitchell for a first down, before Evans powered his way to the opposing 12-yard line. Sacred Heart poked the ball out of the junior running back's hands, though, recovering the fumble for the Pioneers' second takeaway of the afternoon.

The NSU defense never bent an inch in the second half. Jalen Swindell and Eric Etienne combined for a third down stop early in the fourth quarter, before Keshawn Lynch got to the quarterback to blow up another Sacred Heart drive a few minutes later.
 
The pivotal play from Lynch set up one last chance for Norfolk State, getting the ball back down 10-3 with under seven minutes remaining. Fonnae Webb started the drive off with a 23-yard rush, before breaking free for a 30-yard gain moments later.
 
The second burst put Norfolk State deep in Sacred Heart territory, as the Spartans continued to pound away at the run game. NSU shifted to a pass play on fourth down from the eight-yard line, as Berry found Taron Biles-Walker for a fresh set of downs.
 
The Spartans needed four yards for the pivotal score with under one minute on the clock. NSU appeared to find the end zone on a direct snap to Evans, but a holding penalty pushed the offense back and negated the points.
 
From the 13-yard line, three consecutive incomplete passes ended the Spartans' rally and clinched Sacred Heart's third victory of the season.
 
 
Checking The Box Score

• Norfolk State true freshman quarterback Vinson Berry completed 5-of-11 passes for 36 yards in his first collegiate appearance
• X'Zavion Evans led the Spartans with 166 rushing yards on 22 carries, while Fonnae Webb added nine carries for 79 yards
• NSU wideout Nolan James recorded a 33-yard rush in the second quarter
• Sage Beuchert-Irvine recorded a career-high nine tackles on Saturday, including a tackle for loss, as well as a pass breakup
• Keshawn Lynch and Marcus Mauney each recorded a sack for the Spartans

 
News & Notes

• Norfolk State and Sacred Heart's showdown marked the second meeting between the teams, and the first since 2022
• Sacred Heart now leads the all-time series between the schools 2-0
• The Spartans dropped to 2-5, 0-1 in the MEAC with the loss
• Sacred Heart improved to 3-3 with the win
• Norfolk State turned the ball over twice on Saturday, failing to force any takeaways. Through seven games, the NSU defense has recovered four fumbles and recorded seven interceptions

 
UP NEXT
Norfolk State returns home its first game at Dick Price Stadium in nearly a month, facing Towson at 2 p.m. on Oct. 12 for Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
 
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