Running back Will Ford rushed for 175 yards and two scores and quarterback Malcolm Long completed 16 of 24 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown to lead South Carolina State to a 28-19 triumph over Bethune-Cookman Saturday in a MEAC contest at The Citadel’s Johnson Hagood Stadium.
The victory, before 12,495 fans, was the first in MEAC play for SC State and the second in a row for the Bulldogs, who improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the league.
The visiting Wildcats fell to 0-1 in the MEAC and had their overall record leveled at 1-1 on the season.
The Bulldog defense, led by safety Rafael Bush with seven tackles, including one in the backfield, limited the Wildcats and the “Wyattbone” offense to 197 total yards, including just 64 on the ground.
SC State, meanwhile, rolled up 486 yards, including 275 yards rushing. Ford carried the ball 28 times and had scoring runs of 26 and one yard in the contest. Following Ford in the rushing column for Coach Buddy Pough’s team was Travil Jamison, who had 84 yards and a score in 15 attempts.
Tight end Octavius Darby led the Bulldog receivers with five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. His 41-yard reception from Long with at 11:31 of the second quarter, opened the scoring for the Bulldogs and gave Pough’s team a 7-0 lead.
SC State, after starting from its own two-yard line, moved in scoring position once more and had a chance to go ahead by two scores, but a Long pass intended for Charleston native Tre’ Young was behind him and picked off by the Wildcat’s Antonio Cox and returned 93 yards for a score and a 7-7 tie with 2:19 to play in the half.
SC State regained the lead early in the third quarter when Ford got his first score of the day, culminating a four-play, 50-yard drive with his 26-yard scamper. Blake Erickson added the PAT for a 14-7 SC State edge with 12:27 left in the quarter.
The Wildcats closed the gap to 14-13 when J.G. Fanor took a 31-yard scoring pass from quarterback Matthew Johnson at 10:15 of the period. The PAT and a chance for a tie failed.
Ford added his second score, a one-yard scamper later in the third, to give SC State a 21-13 lead and Jamison went in from five yards out midway the final quarter for a 28-13 Bulldog advantage before Bethune-Cookman closed the gap to 28-19 ? the final margin ? when Johnson connected with Joe Singleton from 21 yards out with just 3:20 left. The Wildcats tried and on-side kick, however, the Bulldogs recovered and ran out the clock.
The contest, billed as the Low Country Classic, was the second meeting in three seasons between the two schools in Charleston. In 2006, the Wildcats spotted SC State 14 points before roaring back with 35 unanswered points enroute to a 45-21 triumph. The Bulldogs would have none of that this time.
Coach Pough’s team steps out of conference play next week in their first-ever meeting against intrastate rival Clemson at Death Valley. Kickoff is 1 p.m.