WATCH: SC State Tops Howard, 14-9
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WASHINGTON, DC—All-American redshirt junior linebacker Darius Leonard finished with a game-high 14 tackles (11 solo) and two interceptions to lead South Carolina State to a 14-9 victory over Howard Saturday (Oct. 15) at Greene Stadium.
“We were fortunate to win,” said head coach Buddy Pough.” Thank God for our defense they bent but did not break. You have to be thankful when you win a game and don’t play well.”
The Bulldogs (2-3 overall, 2-0 MEAC) defense stood tall forcing six (6) turnovers with a force fumble by junior defensive end Greg Newell, five (5) interceptions including two by senior safety Phillip Henry, one by junior cornerback Jason Baxter and two by Leonard.
Baxter finished with nine (9) tackles and redshirt junior linebacker Dayshawn Taylor tallied eight (8) in the win.
The Bison (1-6 overall, 1-3 MEAC) were led by junior running back Anthony Philyaw racking up a game-high 32 carries for 163-yards, while redshirt freshman running back Bishop Ford had a solid day rushing for the Bulldogs with 69-yards on 15 carries.
SC State scored first on a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown by Leonard at the 6:19 mark in the second quarter. Howard closed out the first-half on a 24-yard field goal by Dakota Labofsky to push the score 7-3.
The Bison capitalized off the Bulldogs costly errors scoring on a 6-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Jason Collins to wide receiver Kyle Anthony to give HU a 9-7 lead with 7:28 remaining in the third quarter.
Sophomore quarterback Caleb York‘s 5-yard toss with 12:41 remaining in regulation sealed the victory for the Bulldogs. York threw 10-of-30 for 53-yards, while junior punter Jerome Pettiway led the way on special teams with eight (8) punts for 331 yards (41.4 yards per punt) with a long of 56-yards.
South Carolina State returns to action on Saturday (Oct.22) at home against Delaware State in a key MEAC showdown at Oliver. C. Dawson Stadium. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.
