South Carolina State had to sweat out a goal-line stand but still found a way to remain undefeated in MEAC play.
Josh Shaw’s 30-yard touchdown run with 1:51 left in the fourth quarter broke a 27-all tie to give the Bulldogs a 34-27 win over rival North Carolina Central to move to 4-0 in MEAC play and 8-3 overall.
Here are the key takeaways from Friday night’s game.
Onside is the best side
South Carolina State dared to be bold early in the game and it paid off.
After Billy Atkins and Deyandre Ruffin connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass to give SCSU a 10-3 lead, kicker Nico Cavanillas-Alti executed a perfect onside kick that the Bulldogs recovered. Atkins found Nigel Johnson from 51 yards out as the period ended to give the visitors a 17-3 lead and all the momentum. It would only last a few minutes, however.
Central strikes back with pick six
The Eagles pulled within 17-6 early in the second on a Kaleb Robison field goal, then got a pick six by defensive back Eric Adams.
Adams took advantage of two Bulldog receivers running into each other and intercepted Atkins’ pass and returned it 33 yards to the end zone.
The returning Chris Mosley added a nine-yard touchdown run to give Central a 20-17 halftime lead.
Goal-line stand aided by Atkins error
With the game tied at 27 in the fourth quarter, Atkins took an RPO for what looked like a sure touchdown. His celebration was a bit premature as he was ruled to be stopped short of the goal line and the Eagles stifled South Carolina State on fourth down at their own one-yard line to keep the game tied.
The Bulldogs, however, would have one final chance.
Defense wins championships…and saves quarterbacks
The Bulldog defense got North Carolina Central off the field quickly on the next possession, leading to a short field for their offense.
Josh Shaw took advantage, breaking two poor attempts at tackling by Central and racing 30 yards down the right sideline for what turned out to be the winning touchdown.
South Carolina State moves to 9-0 in MEAC games in the Chennis Berry era and will have a chance to wrap up their second straight conference title and another trip to the Celebration Bowl at Delaware State next Saturday.
North Carolina Central’s MEAC title dreams ended as they fell to 2-2 in conference and 7-4 overall.