Box Score ATLANTA,GA--South Carolina State capitalized on a special teams mistake and a time consuming drive late in the game to defeat the North Carolina A&T State Aggies 13-0 in the 26^th annual Atlanta Football Classic.

With the win, the Bulldogs have now defeated the Aggies in 13 of their last 14 meetings dating back to 2001 and Pough has a 12-1 record against the Aggies, his highest winning percentage against any team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The Bulldogs (4-2, 2-0 MEAC) used a strong rushing attack to control the time of possession and keep the quick striking Aggies offense off the field.  Leading the SCSU attack was sophomore quarterback Adrian Kollock, who accounted for 174 total yards (8-19-1, 99 passing, 75 rushing) including a pivotal one yard plunge with 2:30 in the 4^th quarter to secure the win. Running back Jalen "Scoot" Simmons led the Bulldog rushing attack with 95 yards on 24 carries, falling five yards short from his fourth straight 100 yard rushing game of the season.  Head coach Buddy Pough was pleased with the team's running game today.

"We think we have the ingredients to have a pretty high powered run game, Pough said.  It's just that people load the box on us so much because we don't throw the ball well enough, so we have to find ways to keep people off of us."

Defensively, the Bulldogs were paced by redshirt freshman linebacker Darius Leonard, who led all SCSU defenders with 13 tackles (8 solos) and Atlanta Football Classic MVP Javon Hargrave, who wreaked havoc on the Aggies offensive line en route to six total tackles (three for loss) and two sacks.

The Bulldogs first big play came from their special teams late in the first quarter. Following a sack by Hargrave to force an Aggie punt, Kory Brown blocked Aggies punter Cody Jones attempt which was then recovered by Dayshawn Taylor to give the Bulldogs first and 10 from their 11 yard line.  Three plays later, Simmons plunged in from two yards out to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead with 14:56 remaining in the first half following the extra point by freshman Tyler Scandrett.

"The thing that's so disappointing is that in the 3.5 years that I've been here, every time we get in a game like that we get a punt blocked and our offense lays an egg, North Carolina A&T head coach Rod Broadway said. I'm sick of watching this against a team that seems to always hurt us in big games."

The Bulldogs defense then went on the attack, stifling first team all MEAC runningback Tarik Cohen and continuously disrupting the Aggies backfield. At the end of the first half, the Bulldogs led 7-0 and had limited North Carolina A&T to 76 yards of total offense, 14 of which had come on the ground.

In the second half, both offenses had trouble getting things going until the fourth quarter when South Carolina State started to find opportunities in the running game. The duo of Kollock and Simmons drove the Bulldogs into the red zone twice, only to come away with no points due to untimely turnovers by each of them.  Just as it looked as if the Aggies were going to drive to tie the game, quarterback Hasaan Klugh threw a pass into tight coverage that was picked off by Chris Pauling at the South Carolina State 39 yard line with 8:50 remaining in the game.

SCSU then used a 14 play, 61 yard drive that took 6:20 off the clock that was capped by Kollock's game sealing touchdown.

The Aggies (4-2, 1-1 MEAC) have a short turnaround before hosting Hampton University Thursday night at Aggie Stadium.  The Bulldogs will play host to North Carolina Central on Saturday in the friendly confines of Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium, where SCSU will be celebrating Youth Day. Game time is set for 2 PM.