Associated Press
Oct 30, 2025, 11:02 PM ET
PHILADELPHIA -- DeSean Jackson got the better of his former Philadelphia Eagles' teammate Michael Vick in their first meeting as historically Black college coaches thanks in large part to Amir Anderson's blocked punt for a score that sent Delaware State to a 27-20 win over Norfolk State on Thursday night.
Jackson and Vick shared a big embrace at midfield after the game as fireworks went off around the stadium.
Kaiden Bennett threw a 24-yard TD pass to Tahmir Ellis for the Hornets and James Jones scored on a 76-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the latest conference win for Jackson's team.
Vick and Jackson were the signature attractions for each program headed into a rare nationally televised weeknight game for HBCU programs at an NFL stadium.
Both players keyed the Eagles' run to the 2010 NFC East championship, where a banner is raised at the top of Lincoln Financial Field. Vick, the strong-armed, left-handed QB, and Jackson electrified the NFL that season when they connected on an 88-yard touchdown pass against Washington and a 91-yarder against Dallas to help both players earn Pro Bowl nods.
Jackson, who won a Super Bowl with the Rams and retired after the 2022 season, made the pitch to move the game from campus to Philadelphia. Former NFL stars Hugh Douglas, Marshawn Lynch and Cam Newton, and Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham were at the Linc and thousands of fans -- more than each program would average at a home game - waited out some early rain before Delaware State gave them a jolt.
Norfolk State led 6-3 -- the good times started when Otto Kuhns hit JJ Evans for a dynamite 13-yard score -- when it punted deep in its own territory. Anderson got a hand on the punt and scooped the ball in the end zone for a 10-6 lead that Delaware State took into halftime.
Kuhns and Evans broke out that old Vick-to-Jackson dynamic on a 70-yard score that pulled the Spartans to 19-13 late in the fourth. Kuhns threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, and Evans finished with five catches for 124 yards.
Patrick Fisher-Butler kicked field goals of 30 and 26 yards for the Hornets (6-3, 2-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference).
With emotions perhaps charged playing under the lights, the teams got into a scuffle at the end of the third and Delaware State offensive lineman Isaiah Cook was ejected for throwing a punch.
Jackson and Vick's missions are clear -- use their celebrity, their connections, their football smarts to resuscitate two long-suffering programs in the HBCU community much in the way Deion Sanders did at Jackson State on his way to a Power Four program at Colorado.
The 45-year-old Vick, who starred in college at Virginia Tech and was a four-time Pro Bowler in 13 NFL seasons, is off to a rocky start in his rookie season.
Norfolk State, with an enrollment of about 5,100 students, is 1-8 and has lost seven straight games. Vick recently fired some assistant defensive coaches as he tries to revive a Spartans' program that has made only one playoff appearance since moving to FCS in 1997.
Jackson has orchestrated a rapid turnaround at Delaware State, with an enrollment of about 6,500 students, that already included its first conference win since 2022. The Hornets beat rival North Carolina Central 35-26 last week for their first win in Durham since 1977.
