It should make for interesting theater when Howard University hosts Delaware State in the regular season finale at 1:10 pm in Greene Stadium on Saturday. It will be Senior Day as 23 members of the team will be playing their last game in a Howard uniform. The game will be broadcast live on www.whbc963hd3.com. Trevin Jones, Mike Lindo and Tiffany Hoyd will call all the action.
The two teams were in the exact same situation last year headed into the last game. The Hornets were 0-10 and the Bison 1-9. Delaware State managed to come from behind and eke out a 33-32 win in a thriller.
Delaware State dropped a 45-14 home loss to North Carolina A&T last week while Howard battled North Carolina Central before losing 31-20 on the road.
Both teams have struggled scoring and stopping their opponents in scoring. The difference in this game could be the play of Anthony Philyaw. The junior running back from Redondo Beach, CA, is having a phenomenal season despite the team's record. He needs just 51 yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. He also averages over 5 yards per carry.
As if his running exploits are not enough, Philyaw, who ranks second in the MEAC in rushing, he has really come on strong as a receiver coming out of the backfield. He caught a career-high seven in the loss to the Eagles.
Philyaw's abilities has opened up things for Kalen Johnson and Kyle Anthony. A red-shirt sophomore, Johnson had his best game last week against NC Central and appears to have settled in at the position after splitting time with red-shirt freshman Jason Collins.
Anthony, a 6-3 freshman wide receiver from Miramar, FL, is having an outstanding season with 39 receptions and six TDs. He is a strong candidate for MEAC Rookie of the Year honors.
The Hornets (0-10, 0-7 in the MEAC) have been able to put up numbers at times as they have two runners with over 500 yards each and a receiving corps that has been able to pile up numbers, but 26 turnovers have negated that.
Senior tackle Toree Boyd will add to his record for number of starts during a career with 45. Bright spots for Howard include the recent play of freshman Mehki Richardson as a kick returner and special teams player; the consistency of play from Jalen Day, David Lee, Ghafona Iduwe, Richard Johnson, Elijah Anglin and Julian Blair.
Game Notes: /documents/2016/11/18//FB_DSU_Notes.pdf?id=474
