By Drew Costley
Monday, October 24, 2005
Howard's 16-0 win against North Carolina A&T Saturday at Greene Stadium meant a lot for many Bison football players. It meant a shutout win for a senior-led defense in their last homecoming game. It was a chance for a senior running back to showcase talents he had been waiting nearly his whole career to his hometown fans. But most importantly, it was the start of what could be a great career for sophomore quarterback Darrell Turner.
"Darrell Turner had his first opportunity to go out and start a game this week, and I think he handled it very well," said head coach Ray Petty. "He is going to have a bright future here at Howard University."
Turner, who saw his first collegiate action at the end of the Bison's 7-0 loss to Morgan State, led the offensive scoring attack, connecting with Bison reciever Jarahn Williams for a touchdown from 37 yards out and diving into the end zone for the final Bison score of the game.
Turner started in place of senior quarterback Ronald Venters who suffered an injury late against Morgan State. But Turner, with the help of teammate senior running back Keon Coleman, was able to keep a cool head despite starting his first collegiate game.
"We had a long talk last night," Coleman said. "I told him it's just an ordinary day. Treat it like an ordinary day. It's going to be no problem. We have faith in each other."
Coleman also helped Turner by running for a career high 162 yards on 28 carries. The game proved to be a homecoming for Coleman, a D.C. native, on more than one level.
"That's a great feeling to have family and friends come out and show their support," said Coleman, who was sidelined with injuries the past two seasons. "Being from this area, that's a real good feeling because D.C. I-AA football doesn't get a lot of attention at our games [playing] in the college atmosphere is great."
In addition to the performances of Turner and Coleman, another dominating performance from the Bison defense halted an Aggie running attack that is one of the bestin the MEAC. The Aggies, who averaged 146.7 rushing yards per game found no room to roam against the Bison. The stingy Bison defense, who are ranked fourth in Division I-AA in run defense (67.7 yards per game), were able to limit the Aggie offense to minus five rushing yards, the fifth game in which they held an opponent under 100 yards rushing.
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Monday, October 24th 2005 at 9:47AM
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