TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyrece Nick had 20 carries and 138-yards, and three touchdowns to lead South Carolina State (4-5) to an, 44-21, victory over Florida A&M (6-4) Saturday at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
“Always good when you can win on the road especially against a very good FAMU team, “said head coach Buddy Pough. ” We played one of our better games tonight against more than likely the leagues champion this year.”
“We jumped out early and that gave us a spark within our offense,” said Pough. “I’m just proud of the way the guys responded with when FAMU made a run midway through to pull within a score.”
The Bulldog wasted no time jumping out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. Redshirt freshman running back Farrika Grier put South Carolina State on the board first on an 18-yard run at the 11:38 mark in the first quarter. Freshman kicker Dillon Bredesen’s 33-yard field goal with 4:18 left push the lead 10-0.
Nick scored on his first touchdown of the day on a 5-yard punch at with 12:05 mark early in the second quarter. FAMU responded off a 15-yard run by junior running back Deshawn Smith to make the score 17-7 midway through the half. The Bulldogs answered to boost the lead to a commanding 24-7 lead on a 2-yard run by Nick.
A solid effort by the Rattlers offense put them in scoring position to close out the first half on a 3-yard score by Ricky Henrilus to narrow the gap to two scores. South Carolina State led FAMU 24-14 during intermission.
The second half opened up for the Rattlers when Smith found the end zone again for his second score on a 47-yard scamper with 7:30 left in the third quarter. Freshman running back and return specialist Tayshawn Baines turned the whole momentum of the game off an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to close out the scoring drive late in the third quarter.
South Carolina State took total control with back-to-back touchdown runs of 3-yards and 2 by Nick and sophomore running Jarius Jenkins to give the Bulldogs a 44-21 over Florida A&M.
Baines finished with seven (7) returns for 127-yards and a touchdown, while senior punter Jerome Pettiway had a solid day punting with four (4) punts for188-yards with an average 47.0 yards per punt and a long of 66-yards to lead the special teams.
Nick threw 5-of-11-1 for 90-yards and redshirt freshman running back Omar Cummings had nine (9) rushes for 66-yards on the offense. Senior defensive back Chris Adams spearheaded the defense with a team-high seven tackles and Cornelius Walker, Alex Brown and Jaylen Evans all added five tackles each in the win.
Pough, “Our goal is to get better every week and finish the season strong.”
Next up South Carolina State host Savannah State on “Senior Day” Nov. 17th at Oliver. C. Dawson Stadium/Willie Jeffries Field. Kick-off is 1:30 p.m.
Courtesy: SCSU Athletics
