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SC State comes up short in FCS playoffs
Lut Williams
BCSP Editor
Five turnovers, including a botched field goal attempt midway thru the fourth quarter that resulted in the winning score, were too much for MEAC champion South Carolina State to overcome as it fell to Appalachian State 20-13 in a first round FCS playoff game before a boisterous crowd of 12,261 in Boone, N.C. Saturday afternoon.
The loss extends the MEAC's playoff losing streak to 11
games dating back to 1999. But the Bulldogs had their chances.
With the score tied at 13 with nearly eight minutes left, SCSU placekicker Blake Erickson lined up for a 22-yard field goal that would have given the Bulldogs (10-2) the lead. But before holder Matt Washington was ready, center Nathan Smith hiked the ball which sailed over Washington's head and past Erickson. ASU's Dominique Smith picked the ball up at midfield and rambled the rest of the way for the deciding score. SC State did not mount a scoring threat in the final minutes.
"I think crowd noise had a bunch to do with it," said SC State head coach Buddy Pough of the critical field goal attempt. "The center thought he heard the holder call for the ball. He (Washington) didn't even see the snap.
"But we just didn't do enough on offense to win a game like this," said Pough. "Their defense gave us some tough looks. They took away our run game. For all practical purposes, they shut us out."
SCSU quarterback Malcolm Long threw three first-half interceptions but the Bulldog defense also got three turnovers in the half, picking off ASU star quarterback Armanti Edwards twice and picking up a first-quarter fumble from running back Devon Moore.
Edwards' second pick came just before the half and was returned 46 yards by Raphael Bush for a touchdown to tie the score at 10 1:34 before the halftime horn. But SC State was flagged for excessive celebration after the score and for a personal foul on the successful PAT attempt, both penalties being assessed on the kickoff. Kicking off from their own 8-yard line, ASU (10-2) returned the ball to the SCSU 33 and eventually took a 13-10 lead into the break on placekicker Justin Vitaris's 19-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer.
SCSU opened the second half with a 10-play, 83-yard drive and tied the score at 13 on Erickson's 19-yard field goal. That was all the scoring until the decisive play. Erickson had converted a 31-yard field goal on the game's opening drive after the Bulldogs marched 57 yards in 15 plays.
Edwards' third pick of the day, by Devon Quattlebaum, his second of the contest, came just before the deciding field goal attempt.
Long finished the game hitting on 18 of 36 passes for 189 yards. SCSU running back Will Ford was held to 22 yards on 8 carries before going out with an ankle injury in the third quarter. Edwards was 19 of 30 for 218 yards and one TD. ASU outgained SCSU 302 to 229.
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