Final Stats
MT. PLEASANT, MICH— The South Carolina State Bulldogs (0-1) suffered a tough 21-6 defeat to Central Michigan in its season opener at Kelly/Shorts Stadium Thursday night in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
“We didn't make the plays when we had the opportunity and it hurt us in the long run,” said SC State head coach Buddy Pough. “Anytime you take a loss it's a hard lesson but we take it as a team.”
Central Michigan jumped out to a 7-3 lead on a 45-yard toss from junior quarterback Ryan Radcliff to wide receiver Cody Wilson at the 13:05 mark in the first quarter. Radcliff found the end zone once again throwing a 67-yard bomb to freshman Titus Davis to put the Chippewas ahead 14-6 with 8:17 left in the first-half.
Senior Blake Erickson made his second field-goal of the night, hitting 29-yard field goal after earlier nailing a 41-yarder in the first quarter to pull the Bulldogs within eight, 14-6, with 2:31 left in the half.
The Bulldogs closed out the half with just 130 yards total offense.
The Chippewas controlled most of the second-half with their rushing attack, scoring on a 1-yard punch by junior running back Zurlon Tipton to extend the lead 21-6 at the 6:47 mark in the third quarter.
Pough stated, “I was encouraged by the play of our defense despite a slow effort on the offensive side.
Linebackers Christian Thompson, Donovan Richard, and Joe Thomas led the Bulldog defense with 10 tackles each. Sophomore receiver Tyler McDonald led the offense with eight catches for 62 yards.
Despite the loss SC State played five of the thirteen true freshmen that made the trip to Central Michigan, the most ever in an opening game in Pough's tenure as head coach.
Next up SC State will travel to the sunshine state to battle last season's MEAC-Co Champs the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in a pivotal conference showdown. Kick-off is set for 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU with 10:30 p.m. tape delay.
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