ORANGEBURG, S.C. — South Carolina State is MEAC football champion for the third year in a row after the Bulldogs shut out North Carolina Central over the final two quarters Saturday and pulled away for a 38-24 win at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
The victory lifts SC State to 9-2 overall and 4-0 in league play. With Howard eliminating Delaware State 30-24 earlier in the day and the Bulldogs now holding the head-to-head edge over the Eagles, the title and the conference ticket to the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta belong to Orangeburg.
It did not start smoothly. Central running back Gino Addison went 59 yards for a score on the opening possession, with only 23 seconds gone, and the first half turned into a back-and-forth shootout. Quarterback Keely Watson answered with scoring throws to Troy Hillman and freshman RJ Brown, and a 58-yard end-around trick play that ended with Malaqhi Jones in the end zone tied it at 21.
A Bulldog fumble set up an Eagles field goal, but Jett Jackson drilled a 38-yard kick with a little under two minutes left before halftime to make it 24-24 at the break.
The second half belonged to the SC State defense. Watson hit Jones for a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter for the go-ahead score, and linebacker Marquis Lane-Owens put the game away when he jumped a short pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
After surrendering 204 yards before halftime, the Bulldogs held Central to 110 yards the rest of the way and finished with five sacks. Lane-Owens added 1.5 sacks to his interception return, Jayden Fuller had two, and Ka’Von Chisolm and Myles Dixon also got to the quarterback.
North Carolina Central fell to 5-6 and 3-1 in conference play.
From the HERE City State Desk
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