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NORFOLK, Va. — Host Norfolk State lost four fumbles, the last leading to Charleston Southern's final touchdown, and the visiting Buccaneers held off the Spartans by a 20-12 score on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.
The Spartans fell to 0-3 with the loss, while CSU remains unbeaten at 4-0.
The Spartans fumbled five times and lost four, two in each half. Two came in CSU territory and the last was recovered by CSU's Dylan Black in the end zone with 3:04 remaining to all but seal the deal for the Buccaneers.
NSU never led, but cut its deficit to 14-12 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Tyler Clark to Je'Ron Stokes with 6:19 remaining in the game. The Spartans went for the two-point conversion and the tie, but Clark's pass was incomplete.
The Spartan defense forced CSU to punt on the ensuing possession, and the Spartans got the ball back at their 13-yard line with 3:17 left. But on 3rd-and-10, Clark was sacked by Black, who also stripped the ball out and pounced on it in the end zone for a touchdown. The Buccaneers were called for unsportsmanlike conduct after the score, setting up a 35-yard extra point try by Mark Deboy, which failed.
After the ensuing kickoff, NSU picked up one first down, but turned the ball over on downs when Clark's pass to Stokes fell incomplete near midfield. The Spartans forced another punt, but took over their final possession on their own 7 with 13 seconds left, and time ran out.
After a scoreless first quarter, Charleston Southern took a 7-0 lead with 11:25 left before halftime on a 2-yard TD run by Ben Robinson. The Spartans answered just before halftime as starting quarterback Omari Timmons directed the team on an 11-play, 74-yard drive. He capped it with a 1-yard TD pass to freshman fullback Ryan Wade on 4th-and-goal with 43 seconds left before the half. But Ryan Lee's extra point attempt was blocked by Damian Dixon, keeping CSU in the lead, 7-6, going into halftime.
CSU extended its advantage to 14-6 late in the third quarter. The Buccaneers drove 94 yards in 12 plays, taking 5:15 off the clock. Quarterback Malcolm Dixon hit tight end Nathan Prater on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 3:59 remaining in the third. The extra point pushed the Buccaneers' lead to eight, 14-6.
The Spartans, however, could get no closer than two points the rest of the way.
Both defenses played well, resulting in a near dead-heat in offensive output. CSU outgained the Spartans 267-265. The Buccaneers gained 201 of those yards on the ground, with 98 coming from Robinson and 96 from Christian Reyes. NSU held Dixon to just 5-of-15 passing for 66 yards with one TD and one interception.
Running back Rolandan Finch had a game-high 108 rushing yards for NSU. Timmons (10-of-17 for 95 yards, 1 TD) and Clark (10-of-13, 75 yards, 1 TD) combined to complete 20-of-30 passes for 170 yards.
Lynden Trail paced the Spartan defense with 10 total tackles, including one sack and two pass breakups. Deon King tallied eight tackles, 2.5 for loss, and two more sacks. He now has team highs of six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks on the year.
Demaris Freeman led CSU with 13 tackles, while Calvin Bryant had 12 tackles, two sacks and forced two fumbles.
The Spartans hit the road for their first MEAC game of the year next Saturday when they take on Morgan State at 1 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.
