Sept. 3, 2005
Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
Washington, DC - The Winston-Salem State University football team traveled to Washington, DC to face the Bison of Howard University in a match up that saw WSSU face their first Division I-AA opponent of the 2005 season as they looked for their first win versus a MEAC opponent since they defeated South Carolina State University by the score of 39-28 during the 2000 season. Unfortunately, for Ram fans, the Bison had other ideas as they held WSSU to 58 yards of total offense en route to handing the Rams a 20-6 loss at William H. Greene Stadium on the campus of
The first half was one that, offensively, the Rams would like to forget as they would muster only three yards of net offense. WSSU's power running game, one that has led the CIAA in rushing for the past five seasons, would be stymied for the second straight week as they finished the first 30 minutes of play with -19 yards rushing on 17 total attempts.
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The rushing game was not the only offensive category that suffered at the hands of the MEAC's (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's) best defensive unit as the Rams' passing attack amassed only 22 total yards in the first half as quarterbacks Monte Purvis (So./Winston-Salem, NC) and Ronny Horton (Jr./Chapel Hill, NC) combined to turn in a three-for-six passing performance during the game's first 30 minutes of play.
Despite the lack of offensive production in the first half, the Rams would record the game's first points as Andre Che' Wade (r-Fr./Brooklyn, NY) blocked a Howard punt and scrambled 14 yards to the end zone for a WSSU touchdown.
Following a missed Matt Hind point-after-try, Hind's fifth miss in his last 12 attempts dating back to last season, the Rams found themselves leading the contest 6-0 with
That lead would hold up for only six minutes as Howard immediately retook the lead as Jarahn Williams capped a 14-play, 79-yard drive that took
The Williams touchdown catch was not Howard's only first-half touchdown as Keon Coleman got in on the scoring action five minutes and six seconds later as he powered his way into the WSSU endzone from 16-yards out.
Following a Noam Dror successful extra-point, Howard would lead 14-6, a lead that they would take to the locker room at halftime.
The second half of play was very much like the first for the Rams as they appeared to never get into the offensive rhythm of the game. WSSU would stall out on their first four drives of the second half, gaining only one first down in the process, until only four minutes remained in the contest when Stan Wright (Jr./Durham. NC) broke free for the Rams' longest play from scrimmage, a 33-yard pass from quarterback Monte Purvis (So./Winston-Salem, NC) that doubled WSSU's total offense and earned the Rams their third, and final, first down of the game.
 Brandon Hussey And The Rams Could Get Nothing Going On Offense Versus The Bison  |
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To the Rams' credit, they would hold the charging Bison to only six points in the half as the lone Bison points would come via a 1-yard touchdown run.
WSSU was able to get very limited production out of its offense as the lone bright spot on the WSSU offensive front was Jed Bines' (Jr./Winston-Salem, NC) 24 totally yards and Stan Wright's 37 total yards.
The loss drops the Rams to 0-2 overall (0-0 CIAA) in 2005. The win moves
WSSU returns to action next weekend at
For additional information on WSSU football, contact the WSSU Office of Sports Information at (336) 750-2143 or log on to the Official Web Site of WSSU Athletics at www.WSSURAMS.com
