Howard University’s football team fought in the first half of their season-opening game against Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights’ running game proved too strong in a 44-7 defeat at SHI Stadium on Aug. 29.
It was slow going early before Rutgers finally took a 7-0 lead on the Bison’s first drive of the Ja’Shawn Scroggins quarterback era, with a pick-six on a pass intended for Isiah Williams. The Bison saw their first string of success on a drive led by junior running back Eden James that closed the Scarlet Knights’ to 14-7. A late field goal by Rutgers made it 17-7 as the teams went into halftime.
Howard’s offense, led by Scroggins in his first collegiate start, showed promise with 14 completions and 67 rushing yards. After the game, he acknowledged possible areas of improvement.
“We need to do better executing third down conversions, and I need to realize time management with the play clock,” Scroggins said. “I still feel confident in the team going forward.”
In the second half, the running game belonged to Rutgers as running back Kyle Monangai ran for 165 yards and scored.
Rutgers took advantage of the Bison’s mistakes, scoring 27 unanswered points to seal their victory. A dominant 329-yard performance on the ground by the Scarlet Knights left the team struggling to respond.
Richie Ilarraza, a senior wide receiver for the Bison, felt they had chances early on to make a big impact.
“We missed some early opportunities,” Ilarraza said after recording 25 receiving yards. However, he remained confident.
“Once we get going, nobody can stick with us,” he said. “We should go 11-1 this season.”
Head Coach Larry Scott addressed the outcome, stating, “The result is not what we came here to do.”
Scott credited Rutgers for their effective game plan.
“They played to the character of how they want to play by running the ball heavily,” he said. “We wanted to take that away and felt we did a decent job of that in the first half. Unfortunately, we didn’t maintain that in the second half.”
As Howard prepares for their next matchup against Mercyhurst University on Sept. 7, they will look to build on the positives from their first game and correct the mistakes that allowed Rutgers to pull away.
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
