Central St. Shuts Out Benedict 24-0

COLUMBIA, S.C. (BC SID) — Central State University rushed for 227 yards, while the Benedict College Tigers were held to negative 29 yards rushing, and the Marauders took a 24-0 victory on Saturday in Charlie W. Johnson Stadium. Benedict finished with a season-low 68 yards of total offense to drop to 0-3 on the season. Central State improves to 2-1. “Another tough night,” Benedict head coach Mike White said. “No points, too many mistakes, and we’ll go back and review it and see where we can improve.” On Central State’s first drive, the Marauders drove 75 yards on just five plays. Moses Vines carried from eight-yards out for the first score. With five seconds left in the first quarter, Central State’s Marquis Wells completed a 37-yard pass to Christopher Murray for a 37-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. “We didn’t want to give up the big play, and we came right out and gave it up,” White said. The score remained 14-0 until the third quarter, when the Marauders put together a 10-play, 74-yard scoring drive. Isaiah Grooms rushed 28 yards for the touchdown with 4:09 left. Central State got the ball back when a bad snap on a punt attempt gave the ball back to the Marauders at the Benedict 15-yard line with 1:42 left to play in the third quarter. The Benedict defense held the Marauders to a 32-yard field goal for the final 24-0 score. “Some things we’re doing well, but not consistent enough to come close to winning a game,” White said. Kalu Onumah completed 11-of-18 passes for 96 yards, but was sacked four times. The Central State defense finished with six sacks. Charles Powell led the Benedict defense with nine tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and also recovered a Marauder fumble in the end zone. Benedict will make its first road trip next week to take on Fort Valley State University in an SIAC East Division matchup. Fort Valley State took a 35-13 victory over Clark Atlanta on Saturday. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.