COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Connor Heyward rushed for 156 yards on 15 carries as Michigan State whipped Maryland 24-3 in their battle between 5-3 Big Ten Conference college football combatants at Maryland Stadium on a windy Saturday afternoon.
The contest capped a chaotic week for the Maryland football program, which saw the school reinstate suspended football coach D.J. Durkin on Tuesday and then dismiss him on Wednesday. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada once again resumed his role as the Terrapins’ interim coach.
MSU entered the game as a 3-point favorite. Junior Brian Lewerke returned as the starting quarterback after experiencing a shoulder injury in the team’s Oct. 13 victory at Penn State.
Maryland received the opening kickoff but the Spartans scored first when Heyward scampered 18 yards up the middle for a 7-0 edge at the 7:55 mark of the opener. The sophomore is the son of longtime NFL standout Craig “Ironhead” Heyward.
Michigan State came right back with Matt Coghlin’s 33-yard field goal for a 10-0 bulge with 3:32 to go in the first frame, a score that stood until the initial break.
Maryland got on the board with 5:13 left in the half as Joseph Petrino booted a 23-yard field goal to close the count to 10-3, which remained the score at intermission.
The Spartans also scored first in the second half when Heyward fumbled into the end zone and fullback Max Rosenthal recovered for a 17-3 lead at the 4:17 juncture. That gap remained in effect at the final stop.
Redshirt freshman Rocky Lombardi replaced Lewerke in the finale and immediately threw an interception deep in Maryland territory, which the Terp defender fumbled in the end zone and Michigan State recovered. Soon thereafter Heyward galloped 80 yards for a touchdown and a 24-3 advantage with exactly 11:00 showing on the clock.
That was the score at the final gun.
Next up for Michigan State will be a homefield encounter with Big Ten rival Ohio State next Saturday.
Maryland’s next outing will be a trip to Bloomington, Ind., for another Big Ten tussle against Indiana that same day.
The kickoff times for both games have yet to be decided.
EARLIER STORY:
https://fox17online.com/2018/11/03/early-burst-propels-msu-past-maryland-10-3-at-halftime/
