Copyright Athlon Sports
PHILADELPHIA — Fondly remembered in these parts for their downfield connection, Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson returned to Lincoln Financial Field on opposite sidelines and in different roles. Vick and Jackson, once the Eagles’ dynamic duo at quarterback and wide receiver for five seasons, are now the head coaches at Norfolk State and Delaware State, respectively. They have also quickly become the faces of the HBCU football programs they took over last winter. Jackson’s arrival reinvigorated a Hornets program that had won one game each of its last two seasons. Thursday’s 27-20 triumph against the Spartans was Delaware State’s sixth of the year. It unfolded in front of more than 47,000 fans at an NFL stadium on national television. And it ended with the former teammates embracing at midfield before Jackson was carried off by his team. “I would’ve never envisioned this,” Jackson said. “I could’ve never imagined it. I could have never predicted it. “This was the first time in history that two players of the magnitude of me and Michael Vick, who were former teammates who played for this organization, are playing against each other in their first year coaching. History writes itself.” Jackson admitted it was hard not to think ahead to this game throughout the season, and he’s happy for it to be over with — and to be victorious. The Hornets (6-2, 2-0 MEAC) established themselves as one of the best offenses in the FCS over the last two months, running for over 300 yards per game. But it wasn’t until late in the game that Delaware State began to resemble the team that scored 30-plus points in its previous seven games. “I feel like we allowed the lights and the big stage to kind of get us off our game and take our focus off a little bit,” Jackson said. The only first-half touchdown for the Hornets came on special teams when Amir Anderson blocked a punt in the end zone and recovered it for a score. That shifted the momentum early after Norfolk State’s Otto Kuhns took his team down the field for a touchdown the previous possession. Delaware State took a tenuous lead into halftime. The scoring exploded in the fourth quarter as the teams traded touchdowns, but the Spartans could never draw even. Quarterback Kaiden Bennett gave the Hornets a cushion when he found Tahmir Ellis open in the end zone. Norfolk State quickly answered with a 70-yard touchdown pass that bounced off a defender’s hands and into JJ Evans’ hands. That’s when Delaware State’s run game finally came to life. James Jones ripped off a 76-yard touchdown run to give his team a healthy cushion. The Spartans had one more scoring drive in them, but it was too little, too late. The Hornets assumed victory formation on the next and final possession to become the program’s winningest team since 2012. There was no love lost in the City of Brotherly love as the Spartans were jawing at the Hornets the moment they emerged from the tunnel. The teams didn’t shake hands after the coin toss, and tensions boiled over into the game with extracurriculars after the whistle, several offsetting personal fouls and even an ejection after a Delaware State player threw a punch. Still, this was the rare moment when the visitors drew cheers when Vick led his team out of the tunnel. Norfolk State (1-8, 0-2 MEAC) has now lost seven straight games. Vick’s foray into college coaching has not gone nearly as well as Jackson’s, though the Spartans put together their best performance in weeks against the Hornets. It’s also worth noting both teams were on short rest, having played on Saturday. “His record doesn’t show to the amount that he does,” Jackson said. Beyond the two NFL legends on the sidelines, the recently un-retired Eagles edge rusher Brandon Graham was also in attendance. Graham was a teammate of Vick and Jackson in Philadelphia. Cam Newton, who was a part of ESPN’s live “First Take” broadcast from Delaware State’s campus earlier this week, was seen on the sideline. And Marshawn Lynch also made the trip. Lincoln Financial Field was quite the venue for the Spartans and Hornets, whose combined stadium capacities are a little over half of what the Eagles house on a given Sunday. And alumni of both HBCUs made the trip to Philadelphia to pack the lower bowl. Technically a home game for the Hornets, who play 80 miles south in Dover, Lincoln Financial Field was decked out in red and blue. Plenty of Spartans fans showed up, too, populating the visitor’s side in green and gold despite the distance from Norfolk, Virginia. And naturally, hordes of Eagles fans were in attendance to see Vick and Jackson back in Philadelphia. One fan wore a custom “Vick-D-Jax” jersey split down the middle to support the two coaches. Another got confused in their pre-game cheering: “Let’s go Birds — oh, let’s go Delaware State!” The Spartans had won two in a row against the Hornets in a series that was tied 8-8 heading into Thursday’s game. Now, Delaware State has the upper hand, and Jackson is hopeful that future iterations of this game — billed the HBCU Battle of the Legends — are played in Philadelphia. “I definitely do hope we continue to come back here and play in a great environment like this,” Jackson said. “And what’s crazy is leading up to it, I’m like ‘It’s about to rain, people ain’t gonna want to come sit in the rain.’ And God blessed us; it was a good game.”
