South Carolina State 49, Florida A&M 3

October 15, 2005

ORANGEBURG, SC – The South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-1, 3-0 MEAC) had one of their best overall performances of the season in a 49-3 win over the Florida A&M Rattlers (2-4, 1-2 MEAC), Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs put on a dominating performance in the contest controlling both sides of the ball in the victory.

The Bulldogs took advantage of a number of FAMU offensive problems and were able to get the victory. The Rattlers were able to muster just 102 yards of total offense. “We were fortunate in that they kept giving us opportunities and eventually we got the ball back and we scored.” Pough said following the game. “Thank goodness we’re done with this week and we can just get ready for next week.”

“Our guys were focused in and our guys did a good job of stopping what Florida A&M tried to do,” Pough added. “I don’t know what our guys did to play better this week than any other week, but I hope pur guys bottle it up and save it for next week.”

At the opposite side of the spectrum, the Bulldogs’ offense cruised in the contest totaling 563 yards of offense in the contest, including 342 yards rushing. SCSU junior running back DeShawn Baker led the way with 85 yards rushing with one touchdown. Redshirt-sophomore Troy McFadden added 72 yards on the ground with a touchdown. Freshman running back Jonathan Woods rushed for 65 yards with three touchdowns. SCSU senior wide receiver Rondriekas Darby had a huge game as well catching three passes for 70 yards in addition to a 71-yard rush for a touchdown.

SCSU redshirt-sophomore quarterback Cleveland McCoy also had a big game completing 11-of-18 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. McCoy also rushed for 22 yards in the game.

“Our offensive line is starting to be pretty good and our running backs are starting be pretty good as well,” Pough added. “There’s a coordination that occurs between the blocking and the running that we are starting to get together and as that happens, then some good things occur.”

The Bulldogs got off to a slow start to the contest turning the ball over on their first drive of the game when SCSU redshirt-sophomore quarterback had his first pass of the game intercepted when he was hit from behind as he was throwing the pass. The Bulldogs were able to hold the Rattlers to a field goal on the drive.

After stumbling on the first drive, the Bulldogs got back on track scoring on three of their next four possessions, sparked by a three-yard run by freshman running back Jonathan Woods at the 4:00 mark in the first quarter. After holding the Rattlers to a punt on their next possession when senior wide receiver took a reverse 71 yards for a touchdown that put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 with 1:56 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs continued to dominate the contest in the second quarter when junior running back DeShawn Baker scored his first touchdown of the game on a three-yard run at 7:35 in the quarter. Darby scored his second TD of the day when he collected a 43-yard TD pass from McCoy that left the Bulldogs on top, 28-3 heading into the half.

The third quarter belonged to Woods as he rushed for a pair of touchdowns; the first coming on an 11-yard run with 11:32 in the quarter, followed by a 26-yard run at the 2:06 mark that left the Bulldogs ahead 42-3 at the end of the quarter.

SCSU red-shirt sophomore running back Troy McFadden added one more touchdown scoring on a seven-yard TD run at the 8:25 mark in the fourth quarter that left the final score 49-3.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 5-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. The Bulldogs will next head to Hampton, Virginia to take on the Hampton Pirates in a battle of undefeated MEAC teams.