S.C. State holds off WSSU 20-7

By Shawn Singleton, SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL

ORANGEBURG, S.C.- S.C. State, despite outgaining Winston-Salem State by nearly 300 yards, committed four turnovers but still pulled out a 20-7 win at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

“We’re not as good as we thought we were,” said Coach Buddy Pough, whose Bulldogs outgained the Rams 493-200. “We made a lot of mistakes.

“But we’re happy to get the win.”

After a punt by the Rams, it took two plays and 21 seconds for the Bulldogs to score on their first possession. From the Bulldogs’ 21-yard line, quarterback Cleve McCoy went deep and found Terrance Smith uncovered for a 71-yard touchdown pass.

Steven Grantham added the extra point, and S.C. State led 7-0 at the 12:15 mark of the first quarter.

Grantham later capped a 14-play, 5:06 drive with a 28-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead with 10:48 left in the second quarter.

S.C. State attempted to add to its lead on its final possession of the first half. On second-and-goal from the Winston-Salem 1, miscommunication between McCoy and center Raymond Harrison led to a fumble that Brand McClellan recovered in the end zone for a Winston-Salem State touchback with 2:08 left before halftime.

After Grantham opened the second half with a 38-yard field goal to boost the Bulldogs’ lead to 13-0, S.C. State tried to put WSSU away. But McCoy was picked off in the end zone by Nathaniel Biggs. Biggs, a free safety, took the interception 89 yards to the S.C. State 12.

Quarterback Monte Purvis took advantage, finding Bryant Bayne for a 12-yard touchdown pass. S.C. State’s lead was sliced to 13-7 with 2:43 left in the third quarter but the Rams could score no more.

“We played well in some spots, but we weren’t consistent,” said Coach Kermit Blount of the Rams. “We didn’t move the ball as smoothly as we would have liked offensively.”

WSSU 0 0 7 0 - 7

SCSU 7 3 3 7 - 20

First Quarter

SCSU-Smith 71 pass from McCoy (Grantham kick), 12:15.

Second Quarter

SCSU-FG Grantham 28, 10:48.

Third Quarter

SCSU-FG Grantham 38, 8:59.

WSSU-Bayne 8 pass from Purvis (M.Mitchell kick), 2:43.

Fourth Quarter

SCSU-Jamison 1 run (Grantham kick), 1:07.

A-8,222.

TEAM STATISTICS

WSSU SCSU

First downs 12 25

Rushes-yards 37-113 57-289

Passing 87 204

Comp-Att-Int 12-21-1 12-24-1

Return Yards 87 1

Punts-Avg. 7-34.3 1-47.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-3

Penalties-Yards 10-109 9-103

Time of Possession 26:23 33:37

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - WSSU, Bines 10-53, Fluellen 10-42, Purvis 15-11, Dunston 1-6, Bayne 1-1. SCSU, Ford 27-162, Jamison 16-83, McCoy 10-37, Woods 4-7.

PASSING - WSSU, Purvis 12-19-1-87, Dunston 0-2-0-0. SCSU, McCoy 12-24-1-204.

RECEIVING - WSSU, Bayne 4-21, Fluellen 2-40, Bines 2-11, Kizzie 2-(minus 1), Kinzer 1-9, Thomas 1-7. SCSU, DuBose 3-47, Morris 3-20, Smith 2-89, Ford 1-29, B.Bush 1-11, Washington 1-8, Capers 1-0.