Benching starting quarterback Mario Melton was a tough choice for Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley, but it might have saved the Bears? season.
Hill-Eley handed the reigns to former Dunbar standout Byron Selby, who led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in passing in 2005 as a sophomore, but lost his job to Melton last season and during training camp this summer.
This time, however, Selby is showing no signs of returning to the bench, especially not after guiding his team to a 33-9 victory at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. Selby completed just 7-of-16 passes for only 69 yards and rushed for 10 yards, but he threw two touchdown passes and most importantly, didn?t throw an interception as Morgan improved to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference.
“We?re going to play whichever one is moving the offense and right now he is the guy,” Hill-Eley said. “The guys have confidence in him and he is making some plays for us.”
Up next for Selby is a much weaker opponent than Bethune-Cookman (2-3, 0-3). The Bears host North Carolina A&T (0-5, 0-3) on Saturday afternoon at 4 at Hughes Stadium. Lastweek, North Carolina A&T was pummeled, 50-20, by Norfolk State. But coach Hill-Eley emphasized the importance of his squad not taking the Aggies lightly. North Carolina A&T has been outscored by its opponents 70-186, but running back Michael Ferguson, who has 587 yards and a touchdown on 90 carries, is always a threat to go the distance. In its last home game, Morgan State lost to Winston-Salem, 19-17 when Matt Mitchell made a 24-yard field goal with four-tenths of a second remaining.
“This is one of those games you are expected to win,” Hill-Eley said. “You can not take anyone lightly. You need to play the guys without [taking] the record [into account].”
Hill-Eley also said it is imperative his squad builds on its performance against Bethune-Cookman when it faces North Carolina A&T instead of taking a step back, which is exactly what happened against Winston-Salem. The week before that loss, Morgan State played rather well in a 28-21 loss to Towson.
The Bears are ranked No. 1 in the MEAC in scoring defense (17.4 points per game), rushing defense (79 yards per game) and total defense (242.2 yards per game). Morgan State is also first in the league in turnovers forced (15) and turnover margin (plus-5).
The Bears will look to capitalize on these numbers against an Aggies squad that has turned the ball over a MEAC-high 14 times and is next to last in scoring average at 14 points per game.
“We just need to be consistent and minimize turnovers,” Hill-Eley said. “We need to make plays.”
