Howard 27, Charleston Southern 22

October 1, 2005

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Visiting Howard University rolled up 487 total yards but had to withstand a late Charleston Southern rally before securing a 27-22 victory at Buccaneer Field on Saturday afternoon.

Howard (3-2) displayed great balance offensively, totaling 262 yards rushing and 225 yards passing and averaging 6.6 yards per play. Keon Coleman rushed for 140 yards and quarterback Ronald Venters completed 16-of-27 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown to pace the Bison attack.

Charleston Southern (2-3) again had trouble running the football, gaining 16 yards on 24 attempts. Junior quarterback Collin Drafts completed 20-of-33 passes for 257 yards and sophomore receiver Maurice Price caught nine passes for 189 yards for the Buccaneers.

"I thought we played with great effort but we continue to struggle with consistency," said CSU head coach Jay Mills.

Things looked good for the Buccaneers early on as Venters first pass attempt was intercepted by Tavares Shorter and returned to the Howard 12-yard line. Two plays later, Kenny Harper scored on a four-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 13:23 left in the first quarter.

CSU moved 29 yards on nine plays and settled for a Nick Ellis 33-yard field goal with 5:35 to play and a 10-0 lead. On Howard's next possession, a bad snap on a punt attempt sailed through the endzone, giving CSU a 12-0 lead with 4:03 left in the first period.

Howard dominated play in the second quarter as Venters completed 11 of 12 passes. Venters scored on a three-yard run with 14:14 left in the half, cutting the lead to 12-7. After Ellis connected on his second field goal, this one from 34 yards, the Bucs led 15-7 with 8:38 left to play.

Venters again took the Bison downfield, covering 64 yards on six plays with Coleman scoring on a 12-yard run with 7:11 remaining. Venters then took the Bison 86 yards on nine plays, hitting Jarahn Williams with a 25-yard touchdown pass with 2:39 remaining, putting Howard on top at the half, 21-15.

Wiliams, who caught five passes for 112 yards on the day, pushed Howard's lead to 12 on his team's first offensive play of the second half, taking an end around for 65 yards and a touchdown with 11:56 to play in the third.

The score stayed 27-15 until the fourth quarter when Drafts hooked up with Price on a 65-yard touchdown pass with 9:33 to play in the game, cutting the lead to 27-22. The Buccaneers had one other possession but was forced to punt with just over five minutes remaining. Howard ran out the clock, ending the game on CSU's 15-yard line.

Defensively, for CSU, junior linebacker Jada Ross, finished with 15 total tackles, including two tackles for loss. Tavares Shorter added 11 tackles to go with his interception.

Charleston Southern begins Big South Conference play next Saturday at VMI, who opened conference play with a 10-7 win over Liberty on Saturday. CSU defeated VMI last season, 25-24, scoring three touchdowns in the final eight minutes to record their only Big South victory.