BALTIMORE, MD— After a 26-year absence, SC State will be returning to the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Div-1-AA) playoffs after clinching the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship with a 32-0 win over Morgan State at Hughes Stadium.
The Bulldogs, who last appeared in the playoffs in 1982, earned the league's automatic berth with the win, which lifted Coach Buddy Pough’s team to a 9-2 mark on the season and a perfect 7-0 worksheet in the league, with one game remaining.
“It’s just a great feeling,” said SCSU coach Buddy Pough. “Can you imagine being so close for all the six years I’ve been here and we finally got it done.”
Backup quarterback DeWain Clark, in his second start, in relief of Malcolm Long, directed the victory, which gave Pough his first outright title MEAC title in his seven-year tenure. SC State tied Hampton for the title in 2004 but Hampton went to the playoffs by virtue of a win over the Bulldogs that season.
Clark completed 11 of 21 attempts for 124 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs. He also rushed for 79 yards on 13 carries and had a three yard scoring tosses of three and 37 yards, both to wide receiver Phillip Morris, who finished with four catches for 50 yards.
Bulldog All-MEAC running back Will Ford finished with 97 yards on 12 attempts.
Pough stated, “Despite the victory, our celebration is tempered a little bit because we still got some work to do. Our goal was to win a MEAC championship but beyond that we wanted to make the playoffs and make some noise.”
SC State went ahead 6-0 on a Phillip Adams 61-yard punt return in the first quarter at the 6:08 mark. Clark’s three yard scoring toss to Phillip Morris and Travil Jamison’s one-yard punch in the second, gave the Bulldogs an 18-0 cushion at the half.
Clark found Morris again on a 37-yard pass with 14:24 left in the third to put the Bulldogs ahead 25-0. A 39-yard interception and return for a score by sophomore defensive lineman Markus James sealed the victory for SC State.
The Bulldogs finished with 339 yards total offense, while the Bears were held to only 133 yards, just 50 on the ground.
“As the clock was winding down, a lot of things went through my mind” said Pough in his post game comments. “The making of this championship started back in the spring when we selected some senior leadership (Terrence Allen and Raymond Harrison)”.
“No matter what happens, I hope we get a high enough seed to host a home game but regardless I think this team has the right ingriedents to do well (in the playoffs)”.
SC State will close out the regular season next Saturday against North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, NC. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.
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