NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State Spartans ended their season with a 44-15 loss to Howard in Washington, D.C., closing out Michael Vick’s first year as head coach at 1-11.

Despite the difficult finale, Vick said the season taught him, his staff, and his players valuable lessons that will shape the program moving forward.

“My thoughts? Hey, it’s only up from here,” he said. “That’s all I can say.”

Penalties again define the outcome

Vick said the Howard game showed progress but was undone by the same issues that hurt the Spartans all year: flags that erased momentum.

“It was just too penalty-riddled,” he said.

The defense forced turnovers, but mistakes negated big stops.

“We jumped offsides, we had a personal foul... it was a huge momentum swing created by penalties. Once we eliminate

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