NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It's already been a season of several firsts for Michael Vick at Norfolk State.
The head coach led his team to a win in the season opener, then picked up his first coaching victory over a Division I opponent this past Saturday against Hampton in the Battle of the Bay. Now he'll hit the road looking for his first road triumph as a head coach at Chicago State.
"I haven't won on the road as of yet," the head coach recalled during his media availability Tuesday afternoon. "I feel like I've been doing this for a long time, but last year was not ideal. A lot of things to accomplish, a lot of small milestones to hit."
NSU's last road victory came on September 21 of 2024 in Lexington against VMI.
The Spartans will visit Chicago State for a 7 p.m. kickoff this Saturday night. The Cougars are in their first year of football are are two weeks removed from picking up the program's first ever win, taking down Kentucky Christian on September 12. CSU is led by head coach Bobby Rome, a Norfolk native and former Granby standout. Vick said he's met Rome before as the two Hampton Roads stars get set to square off as coaches.
"I thought it would be a good opportunity to play those guys," Vick pointed out. "I know a couple coaches from their side and I feel like they're going to come prepared, they're going to come to battle and we're going to do the same so it's a great trip. It will be a good trip for our team."
The green and gold have not won back-to-back games in a season since October of 2021, but this year's group has its eyes on turning Saturday's victory into two in a row and beyond. The lead Spartans feels that his group can use the victory over Hampton to propel the Spartans into this week.
"We just kept grinding, we just kept playing," Vick noted. "We didn't worry about the score. We only worried about what it was going to say when the game was finally over. I think they had fun, I think they played through the situations."
Several players shined in Saturday's win, none bigger than Jason Wonodi. He returned two punts all the way back for touchdowns. Marco Peery was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals, including a 48-yard boot. Jalyn Daniels tallied 102 rushing yards and quarterback Deljay Bailey racked up 232 total yards and a rushing score.
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