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Record Setting Night as Bulldogs Rout Bears
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- Bradford D. Gillens
Record Setting Night as Bulldogs Rout Bears
By: Bradford D. Gillens — I Light Media
In a game featured as "Praise and Worship Night" at Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium, highlighted by a halftime performance by Grammy Award Winning duo Mary, Mary, it seemed as if a little "church" proved to be the perfect anecdote for the South Carolina State offense. After being somewhat stagnant the last two weeks against Delaware State and Howard, the Bulldogs had an offensive explosion, amassing over 607 yards of total offense and scoring on their first three possessions of the game, handily defeating the Morgan State Bears 65-15 before a crowd of 10,993 on hand at Oliver C. Dawson and in front of the millions of viewers tuned in worldwide to ESPNU. This was the largest scoring output by SCSU under Head Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough's regime, and the worst loss to the Bulldogs for Morgan State since 1977, a 63-13 decision.
In a game that featured the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's best offense (SCSU) versus the worst defense (Morgan), the Bulldogs managed to rack up an astounding 607 yards of total offense en route to their biggest win of the season. And it couldn't have come at a better time for Pough and his staff, whose team is still trying to make a case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs.
"It was a case of us really needing to go out and make a statement," Pough said after the game. "We wanted to go out and show that we were a good enough team to be a part of the I-AA playoffs."
The Bulldog defense was also impressive, holding the high powered Morgan State offense to just 315 yards of total offense, 80 of which came on the ground, and forced 3 turnovers, one of which was a 27 yard interception return by senior free safety Kevin Corley.
The Bulldogs began the game with an 8-play, 80-yard drive, culminated by a 14 yard TD run by DeShawn Baker. Place kicker Stephen Grantham's failed PAT gave the Bulldogs a 6-0 advantage with 7:15 remaining in the 1st. The Bulldogs would then score three more times, all rushing TD's, pushing the lead to 27-0 with 1:51 left in the first half. Morgan State would put together a late drive, going 70 yards on 3 plays in 0:46 culminated by a 12 yard TD from QB Byron Selby to WR Kelvin Dickens to bring the Bears to a 27-7 deficit before the half.
The second half would prove to be worse for the Bears than the 1st, as the Bulldogs came out and scored on their opening possession, on a 2-yard TD run by Baker, his 3rd of the day. The Bulldogs then sealed the game with Corley's "pick six" on the very next possession.
SCSU RB DeShawn Baker finished the day with 102 yards on 16 carries and a career high 4 TD's, while QB Cleveland McCoy set a career high of his own, amassing 333 total yards and a score, 277 of which came through the air. Wide receiver Rondriekas Darby, arguably the most exciting player in the MEAC this year, set a career high with 4 catches for 168 yards and a TD, while reserve running back Troy "Jo Jo" McFadden also got into the mix, gaining 118 yards on 13 carries and scoring twice.
The Bulldogs improve to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play and will now turn its attention to the North Carolina A&T State Aggies. The Bulldogs will take on the Aggies next Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC in the Nationwide Insurance Rivalry Classic. The Bears however played their final game of the season. Coach Donald Hill-Eley's team finishes the season 2-9 (1-7 MEAC).