St. Francis turns back Norfolk State, dropping Spartans to 0-4
Growing pains.
That’s the best word to describe what Norfolk State is going through right now.
It was never more evident than on Saturday when the Spartans fought back against St. Francis, only to lose 45-26 at Dick Price Stadium. The loss dropped the Spartans to 0-4 for the first time since 2014.
“Do we want to be 0-4? No, we don’t want to be 0-4, but we got some work to do, and we can find some things that we can do better,” said Norfolk State coach Dawson Odums. “It’s a work in progress. But our team has to see that and understand that we’re not old enough to overcome some of the mistakes that we’re making. And that’s what you’re seeing on the field.”
The Spartans, at times, had up to put seven true freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the field at one time.
And it showed as they got behind 21-0 early.
St. Francis, from Loretto, Pennsylvania, used two quarterbacks with Justin Sliwoski and Cole Doyle. They combined for 300 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
Sliwoski led the Red Flash on a 12-play, 85-yard drive on their first possession, capping it with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Snyder. On the drive, the Red Flash converted on on third-and-10 early in the drive, and then scored on fourth-and-13.
The Spartans’ special teams failed them a short time later when Donnell Brown returned a fumble 30 yards for another score.
Following a Norfolk State punt, the Red Flash brought in Doyle, who engineered a 4-play, 65-yard drive for another score. He rushed for 30 yards and threw for 35, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Makai Jackson for a 21-0 lead.
But the Spartans didn’t quit, despite trailing 21-0 in the second quarter.
Norfolk State got its offense going as the Spartans marched 80 yards on eight plays, including a 26-yard touchdown from freshman running back and former York standout Jordin Lennon. The run failed as the Spartans trailed 21-6.
Following a fumble, the Spartans got the ball back on their own 46. Five plays later, quarterback Jaylan Adams threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Collis Pride. Norfolk State tried a two-point conversion, but the run failed and the Spartans trailed 21-12 with 4:01 left in the first half.
But that’s as close as they would get.
The Spartans aren’t about to hang their heads. They still have one more non-conference game at Sacred Heart next week before they start MEAC play.
“There’s a lot to move on from here,” said Lennon, who finished with 80 yards on 10 carries. “Conference [play] hasn’t really started yet. At the end of the day, we want to be MEAC champions. And none of these games really affect our chances.”
Redshirt linebacker Tyler Long agreed.
“We got a lot of confidence on defense. We’re going to keep getting better each and every week,” said Long, who led the Spartans with 12 tackles. “It’s a matter of correcting our mistakes and coming out and executing . . . by the time we get to conference play, we’re going to get everything right.”
Mistakes and youth killed the Spartans. They gave up a fourth-down touchdown and had another taken off the board because of a penalty. They missed a field goal and dropped a punt snap.
“You can’t do those things against nobody and expect to win,” Odums said. “But the fight, that’s the sign of a football team that is trying to find to find a way.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com Follow @LHRubama on Twitter.
