Rams lose Blount's final game

NORFOLK, Va. --

As was the case all season Winston-Salem State fought to the end, but it wasn't enough.
The Rams, hoping to send out veteran coach Kermit Blount a winner, lost 28-21 to Norfolk State at chilly Dick Price Stadium.
Blount, who was forced to step down earlier in the week after 17 years at his alma mater, couldn't help but hold back tears when it was all over.
"I feel good about what these kids accomplished," said Blount, 51. "They did something that none of my teams had ever had to do and that's start out one way (transition to Division I) and end another way during the season. And they hung in there with it."
If not for two missed field goals by Landen Thayer of the Rams in the second half and a long 67-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dennis Brown to Chris Bell of the Spartans, the Rams might have turned the tables.
Travis Taylor, an offensive lineman, said that with everything that's gone on this season it would have been easy for them to mail in this game. Despite starting Jean Julmiste, the third-string quarterback, and moving slot back Omar Kizzie to quarterback, the Rams stood toe-to-toe with the Spartans.
"We made too many mistakes in the first part of the game," Taylor said. "Playing a good team you can't do that. We could have bagged this game with what's gone on around here but we didn't do that - we fought."
The Rams, who finish 1-10, the worst record in Blount's 17 years and the worst since 1975, had five turnovers and wound up with 14 turnovers over the last three games.
Kizzie caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Julmiste with 7:44 left in the third quarter that tied the game at 21.
Later in the quarter the Rams had a chance to take the lead but the usually reliable Thayer, who was their leading scorer this season, pushed a 30-yard field-goal attempt.
The Spartans (7-4) took advantage on the next series and Brown found Bell streaking down the right side for the game-changing touchdown. Bell beat Alex Chandler, who had single coverage on the play. It was Bell's 13th touchdown catch of the season.
Other than getting beaten on the play, Chandler, a fifth-year senior, played probably his best game of his career. He had a blocked punt and had two interceptions, and helped hold Bell to just four catches.
Chandler knew that the Rams would fight to the end. They had two overtime losses and lost three more games by four points or less.
"I'm not surprised because we played like this all season and we fought hard again," Chandler said. "We got hit with a bunch of adversity all season, and we were hoping to send out Coach Blount with a bang."
Blount stood at midfield answering questions afterward, and again was given an opportunity to speak his mind about being reassigned by the university. Instead, he gave credit to his players for not giving up on him.
"It's been a good run," Blount said about his career. "I've been here at Winston-Salem State for 17 years and that doesn't happen too often in this profession. I'm just happy to have the opportunity here and appreciate what this university gave me….
"I feel good, I'm OK. They played hard for me until the end and that's all I can ask out of them."
After Brown's touchdown pass with 1:26 left in the third quarter gave the Spartans the lead for good the Rams had another chance to score. With 10:47 left in the game Thayer pushed another 30-yard field-goal attempt that would have cut the margin to four.
The Rams got the ball back at their own 32 with 3:02 to go, but with 40 seconds left, on a third-and-10 from the their own 44, Julmiste was intercepted Dante Barnes. Julmiste, seeing his first extended action at quarterback since last season when he was at Dodge City Community College, was 6 of 17 for 67 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Kizzie, who ran out of the shotgun every time he was at quarterback, rushed for 49 yards on 14 carries and had a nice 9-yard up-the-middle run for a touchdown to tie at 7 in the first quarter. Kizzie did have all three of the Rams' fumbles with two of them coming when he tried to pitch the ball on option plays.
"It was just like the whole season and it accumulated with the mistakes," Kizzie said. "That's how it's been all year, and we couldn't pull it out."
While the Rams did allow 388 yards to the Spartans, they did finally score their first defensive touchdown of the season. Lineman Josh Newkirk deflected a Brown pass, tipped it to himself, and then rumbled 61 yards in the third quarter to tie the game at 14.
Defensive lineman Stephen Young said that they wanted to get Blount a victory in his final game.
"He tried to veer away from being emotional," Young said. "But I know it touched him that we played so hard, and we were right in the game until the end."
Said Kizzie: "He knows we played hard."
With Jarrett Dunston, the Rams' starting quarterback out with a concussion and his backup, Branden Williams, out with an ankle injury, offensive coordinator Alan Hall had to adjust on the fly in practice this week.
The Rams managed 223 yards of offense, but the five turnovers were too much to overcome.
"We put those two quarterbacks in a different system just this week and they did all right," Taylor said. "We had this game, and we played pretty good up front, so now we just have to look forward to next year."
Taylor said that it's disappointing not to have won in Blount's final game. Blount, the all-time leader in wins in school history, ends his career with a 91-87-3 record.
"We really wanted to win this game for Coach Blount since we got that unfortunate news he won't be back," Taylor said. "We wanted to take him out on a good note."