ORANGEBURG, S.C. — South Carolina State delivered a dominant performance on both sides of the football Saturday evening, rolling past Virginia State 66-0 at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on Willie E. Jeffries Field.
The Bulldogs improved to
3-0 with the victory, while Virginia State fell to 2-1. SC State scored in every quarter — 14 points in the first, 17 in the second, 21 in the third and 14 in the fourth — while keeping the Trojans off the scoreboard.
SC State controlled nearly every statistical category, piling up
480 yards of total offense while limiting Virginia State to just
114 yards. The Bulldogs rushed for 282 yards on 42 attempts and threw for another 198 yards. Virginia State managed only 55 rushing yards and 59 passing yards. SC State also held a commanding 27-8 advantage in first downs and possessed the football for 37:33.
The Bulldogs' defense was equally impressive, forcing
five turnovers, recording five sacks and holding Virginia State to 2-of-11 on third down. SC State converted the Trojans' mistakes into
31 points off turnovers.
SC State established control early.
Josh Shaw capped an eight-play, 53-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage late in the opening quarter. Jett Jackson added a
52-yard field goal in the second before
Ronnie Robinson connected with
Malik Brightwell for a 30-yard touchdown and
Mason Pickett-Hicks for a 21-yard score, sending the Bulldogs into halftime with a commanding
31-0 lead.
The Bulldogs never eased off after the break.
Keely Watson connected with
Nick Brown for a 1-yard touchdown early in the third quarter before
Julian Milligan scored on a 4-yard run. The defense then joined the scoring when
Marquis Lane-Owens returned a fumble 1 yard for a touchdown, pushing the advantage to 52-0.
Ricorian Brown added a 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter before Zan Dunham put the finishing touches on the shutout with a
25-yard interception return for a touchdown, producing the final 66-0 margin.
Pickett-Hicks continued his strong start to the season, leading SC State's ground attack with
112 yards on 10 carries, averaging 11.2 yards per attempt with a long run of 67 yards. He also caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown, finishing with 143 all-purpose yards. Brown rushed three times for 63 yards and a score, while Milligan added 42 yards and a touchdown.
State used multiple quarterbacks effectively. Watson completed
14 of 19 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, while Robinson completed 3 of 6 for 62 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs finished 19 of 27 passing without an interception and accounted for three touchdowns through the air.
Defensively,
Sharmari Reed and Dunham finished with six tackles apiece.
Ka'Von Chisolm recorded
two sacks for 13 yards, while Reed, Jayden Fuller and
Jordan Dollard each added a sack. Dunham and Tyler Jones recorded interceptions as the Bulldogs consistently disrupted Virginia State's offense.
Perhaps the most telling numbers were SC State's
480-114 advantage in total offense, 282-55 edge on the ground and 31 points generated from turnovers. The Bulldogs also converted 8 of 12 third downs while holding Virginia State to just two conversions in 11 attempts.
The victory kept the Bulldogs unbeaten at
3-0 and completed a convincing all-around performance before an announced crowd of
11,500 in Orangeburg.
