Durham, NC---The Howard football team jumped out to the early lead, surrendered 23 unanswered points and then fought its way back before losing to North Carolina Central, 30-21 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. It was the fifth straight loss for the Bison (1-9, 1-6 in the MEAC) while the streaking 25th ranked Eagles (8-2, 7-0 in the MEAC) won their eighth straight. 

The game featured an uncommon number of long distance drives and Howard set the tone on their first possession. It took three plays to go 80 yards with Anthony Philyaw scoring on a 68-yard sprint at the 7:28 mark of the first quarter. 

North Carolina Central, feeling a sense of urgency, finally got on the scoreboard when Malcolm Bell took his team 80 yards in 10 plays as Ramone Simpson capped it off with a one-yard plunge. The PAT attempt was botched so Howard led, 7-6. 

Both defenses stiffened and aborted long drives that ended up as missed field goals or missed opportunities. The Eagles were able to salvage the half on a 32-yard field goal by Brendan McLaren, giving NC Central a 9-7 lead at intermission. 

The Howard defense continued to play tough to start the second half, but Bell slowly began to take control and proceeded to lead his team on a much-needed security score as he engineered another 80-yard drive that took eight plays and a little under three minutes off the clock. The senior finished off the drive with a seven-yard TD pass to David Miller that made it 16-7 late in the third quarter. 

NC Central would embark on another long drive to start the fourth quarter, this one of 10 plays and 79 yards. Bell scampered eight yards to finish it off and give his team what would seem like a comfortable 23-7 lead. 

But the Bison refused to follow the script as Kalen Johnson and Philyaw went to work. Johnson put together a 10-play, 90-yard drive that used up less than four minutes to get his team to within 23-15 when he found Guy Lemonier for a 10-yard TD strike. Philyaw, who accounted for most of the yards on the drive, scored on the two-point conversion attempt. 

Bell would answer with an 87-yard drive and he made sure it was complete when he scampered 44 yards for the score to up the margin to 30-15 with 3:01 remaining. 

But the Bison refused to quit and Johnson countered by taking his team on a 12-play, 78-yard drive with a seven-yard strike to Lemonier for their second hookup. Howard would, however botch the conversion attempt and it trailed 30-21 with 48 seconds remaining. 

The ison would get the ball back again but the nine-point deficit with so little time sent them to another disappointing defeat. 

It was one of the best offensive performances of the season for Howard as they rolled up 422 yards of offense—211 rushing and 211 passing. Johnson had perhaps his best day, completing 22 of 34 for 211 yards and two TDs while adding another 32 on the ground. 

Philyaw again showed why his one of the premier backs in the FCS. The 6-1, 205-pound junior from Redondo Beach, CA, rushed for a game-high 139 yards on 15 carries and a TD and also led the team in receiving with six for 45 yards. 

Lemonier came up big, grabbing four passes, two of which went for TDs, his first of the season. Freshman Kyle Anthony was held to no receptions through 3 ½ quarters, but managed to grab four late to add to his team-leading 39 for the season. 

Defensively, red-shirt junior linebacker Jalen Day had another outstanding day with a team-high 11 tackles, seven of them unassisted. Junior linebacker David Lee (8 tackles), junior defensive tackle Richard Johnson (8 tackles), junior defensive end Elijah Anglin (7 tackles) and senior cornerbsck Julian Blair (6 tackles) contributed to the team effort. 

NC Central was led by Bell, who had a career day with 11 rushes for 122 yards and 2 TDs and 20 of 28 passing, 223 yards and a TD. 

NEXT UP: Howard closes out the season with a home game against rival Delaware State next Saturday at 1:10 pm. It will be Senior Day for 23 members of the team who will be honored in the pre-game ceremonies. The Eagles play for the MEAC championship next Saturday against their bitter rival North Carolina A&T in the Aggie-Eagle Classic in Durham at 2 pm.