SC State claims share of MEAC Championship with overtime win at Norfolk State
NORFOLK, VA—Sophomore kicker Dillon Bredesen nailed two-key field goals in the closing seconds, including overtime to lift South Carolina State to an, 20-17, victory over Norfolk State Saturday (Nov. 23rd) at Dick Price Stadium.
The win gave the Bulldogs (8-3 overall, 6-2 MEAC) their 17th Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship in school history and head coach Buddy Pough his seventh at the helm and first since 2014.
“I’m just overjoyed and happy for this team and our program to be able to come in here and beat a good Norfollk State team,” said Pough. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but the players never put their head down and we were able to capture a share of the league title.”
The Bulldogs jumped early to a 14-3 lead off a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by senior running back LaBron Morris. The Spartans responded on 39-yard field goal by Josh Nardone late in the second quarter to push the lead 7-3 before intermission.
NSU’s Gerald Hulett made sure his presence was felt powering the Spartans to back-to-back touchdown runs of 14-yards and 8 to give Norfolk State an 17-14 lead with 0:58 seconds remaining in regulation.
Bredesen forced overtime play nailing 29-yard field goal with 0:02 seconds remaining to tie the game 17-17. In overtime SC State scored first on a 27-yarder to give the Bulldogs an 20-17 advantage.
The defense would not be denied stopping the Spartan offense in the tracks. Senior linebacker Chad Gilchrist sealed the overtime victory off a blocked field-goal to give the Bulldogs.
“We knew that N.C. A&T had a strong chance of repeating as champions and go to the Celebration Bowl,” Pough said. “Now we will just have to wait and see if we get a at-large bid in the FCS Playoffs.”
Morris finished with 24 carries for 80-yards and twotouchdowns to lead the ground attack, while freshman Corey Fields threw 20-of-35 for 286-yards and no interceptions. Senior Demantra Burroughs grabbed six catches for 130-yards.
Redshirt freshman Shaqun Davis also had six catches for 95-yard and senior Bruce Johnson tallied a team-high eight tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble and return.
