Box Score
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The South Carolina State defense limited visiting Norfolk State to 96 yards of total offense, and Bulldog running back Chris Massey scored a touchdown rushing and receiving as the ninth-ranked Bulldogs beat the Spartans 34-13 on Saturday afternoon at Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium.
The win was the 21st straight in MEAC play for the two-time defending conference champion Bulldogs (4-1, 2-0 MEAC). NSU (2-3, 1-2), meanwhile, has now lost two straight.
The Spartans started fast thanks to a big play from their defense. Junior safety Ricardo Volcin (North Miami Beach, Fla.) intercepted a Malcolm Long sideline pass on the second play from scrimmage and returned it 39 yards for an NSU touchdown. The extra point by Ryan Estep (Chesapeake, Va.) gave the Spartans a 7-0 lead just 59 seconds into the game.
But NSU's special teams problems surfaced later in the quarter. A low punt snap went past Spartan punter Troy Muenzer (Long Beach, Calif.). His last-ditch effort to punt the ball off the ground did not reach the line of scrimmage, and Bulldog Troy McFadden caught the low kick and ran it back 47 yards for the tying touchdown with 10:25 left in the first quarter.
After forcing NSU to punt on the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs drove 64 yards in 10 plays for the go-ahead score. Long hit Massey on a 9-yard TD pass to make it 14-7 with 3:32 remaining in the first quarter.
The Spartans would get as close as 14-10 on Estep's career-long 45-yard field goal with 13:37 left in the second quarter. The kick capped a 13-play, 47-yard drive.
SCSU pushed its lead to 21-10 on Long's 1-yard QB sneak on its next possession, finishing off a nine-play, 60-yard drive. Blake Erickson then helped SCSU take a 24-10 advantage into the half thanks to a 39-yard field goal just 1:12 before the break.
After forcing NSU to punt after the first possession of the second half, Erickson pushed the Bulldogs' edge to 27-10 with a 22-yard field goal.
Estep hit his second field goal of the day with 10:43 left in the game to bring NSU within two touchdowns, at 27-13. The score was set up after the Spartans got excellent field position when Victor Hosten (Alexandria, Va.) recovered a fumbled SCSU punt at the Bulldog 9.
But NSU could only manage one more first down the rest of the way, and Massey capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run with 2:29 left in the game.
Massey had 23 carries for 82 yards for SCSU, which was held to 297 yards of offense by the Spartan defense. Long was 12-of-20 through the air for 125 yards with one score and one interception.
DeAngelo Branche (Norfolk, Va.) led the NSU offense with 17 rushes for 53 yards. Branche, who entered the day as the fourth-leading rusher in NSU history, moved past Orlando Goodhope and Terrell Johnson into second on the all-time rushing list with 2,828 yards. NSU, however, managed just 55 yards passing. Quarterback Chris Walley (Tallahassee, Fla.) was harassed into 10-of-24 passing and was sacked three times.
Spartan free safety DeVonte Reynolds (Warsaw, Va.) had a career-high 12 tackles, 1.5 for loss to lead the NSU defense.
The Spartans continue their difficult MEAC road swing next Saturday at Hampton in the annual Battle of the Bay. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Armstrong Stadium.
