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Major Takeaways
- South Carolina State beat North Carolina Central 38 to 24 on Saturday to win a third straight MEAC championship.
- The title is the 21st MEAC crown in program history and the first run of three straight since the run that ended in 2010.
- The Bulldogs shut out the Eagles in the second half after the teams reached halftime tied at 24.
- Keely Watson threw three touchdown passes and Marquis Lane Owens returned an interception for a score.
- The win sends South Carolina State back to the Celebration Bowl on December 12 in Atlanta.
South Carolina State owns the MEAC again, and this time the Bulldogs removed all doubt before the fourth quarter even started.
The Bulldogs beat North Carolina Central 38 to 24 on Saturday afternoon at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg.
The win locked up a third straight conference championship for South Carolina State. It also delivered the program its 21st MEAC title.
North Carolina Central arrived with the same conference record and the same dream. The Eagles left with a second half shutout hanging over their season.
A Wild First Half in Orangeburg
The game opened like a track meet. North Carolina Central struck just 23 seconds into the afternoon.
Gino Addison broke free for a 59 yard touchdown run, and the Eagles led 7 to 0 before many fans found their seats.
South Carolina State answered with a seven play, 78 yard drive. Keely Watson found Troy Hillman for a 30 yard touchdown to tie the game.
The Eagles moved back in front. Watson answered again, this time with a 21 yard scoring pass to freshman running back Ricorian Brown late in the first quarter.
North Carolina Central pushed ahead 21 to 14 early in the second quarter. Then came the longest play of the day for the home team.
Zai Offord hit Malaqhi Jones on a 58 yard touchdown pass with 8:29 left before halftime, tying the game at 21.
The kickers traded field goals from there. Riley Daniels connected from 24 yards for the Eagles.
Jett Jackson answered from 38 yards in the final seconds of the half. The teams walked into the locker room tied at 24.
South Carolina State Took Over After Halftime
Whatever head coach Chennis Berry said at halftime worked. The second half belonged entirely to the Bulldogs.
Watson opened the third quarter with a 10 play, 65 yard drive. He finished it with a 10 yard touchdown pass to Jones for a 31 to 24 lead.
It was the first lead of the afternoon for South Carolina State. Less than a minute later, the defense made it stand up in style.
Junior linebacker Marquis Lane Owens read a short throw, stepped in front of it, and returned the interception 15 yards for a touchdown.
The score jumped to 38 to 24 with 9:34 left in the third quarter. North Carolina Central never scored again.
The Bulldogs defense recorded five sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The Eagles managed only 110 yards of offense after halftime.
Twice in the fourth quarter, North Carolina Central drove inside the South Carolina State 15 yard line. Twice the Bulldogs turned the Eagles away on downs.
Lane Owens finished with seven tackles, one and a half sacks, two tackles for loss, and the interception that broke the game open.
Jayden Fuller added two sacks. Ka’Von Chisolm added five tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss.
Watson and Jones Led the Air Attack
Watson delivered the kind of steady championship performance the moment demanded. He completed 15 of 25 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns.
He did not throw an interception. The Bulldogs threw four touchdown passes as a team and piled up 333 total yards.
Jones was the star of the receiving corps. He caught five passes for a game high 91 yards and two touchdowns.
DJ Maultsby added four catches for 83 yards. Brown led the ground game with 48 yards on 13 carries to go with his touchdown catch.
North Carolina Central quarterback Joshua Jones threw touchdown passes to Mehki Wall and RJ Lancaster in the first half.
The Eagles finished with 314 total yards. Almost all of the damage came before halftime, when the game still felt wide open.
Help elsewhere finished the title math. Howard beat Delaware State 30 to 24 on Saturday, clearing the last path for the Bulldogs to clinch.
The Road to Atlanta Runs Through Orangeburg Again
The championship sends South Carolina State back to the Cricket Celebration Bowl. The game is set for December 12 in Atlanta.
The Bulldogs will face the champion of the SWAC. That title gets settled in the SWAC Championship Game on December 5.
South Carolina State knows this stage well. The Bulldogs won the Celebration Bowl last December, outlasting Prairie View A&M in four overtimes.
Berry has now guided the program to three straight MEAC titles in his three seasons in charge. His conference winning streak stands at 14 games.
The Bulldogs sit at 9 and 2 overall with a perfect 4 and 0 mark in league play. North Carolina Central fell to 5 and 6 overall and 3 and 1 in the conference.
One regular season game remains, a home date with Delaware State next Saturday. The trophy, however, is already decided.
What This Dynasty Means for Black College Football
South Carolina State is one of the founding pillars of the MEAC, and Saturday added another layer to a proud Black college football tradition.
Twenty one conference championships tell the story of a program that keeps setting the standard for everyone else in the league.
Orangeburg is a small city with an outsized football heartbeat. Generations of families have filled Dawson Stadium to watch the Bulldogs defend home turf.
Berry, a Black head coach building a dynasty at a historically Black university, has made winning in the MEAC look routine. It is anything but routine.
HBCU programs build champions with fewer resources than the giants of the sport. Sustained excellence like this run demands respect far beyond the conference.
The Marching 101, the garnet and blue, and a stadium named for a coaching legend all frame what Saturday meant to this community.
For the players, a third straight ring is a legacy they will carry for life. For recruits watching, the message is simple.
The road to a championship in Black college football still runs through Orangeburg. Follow the full picture in our Sports coverage and on the Football page, and catch up on the Lamar Jackson timeline shaping the NFL stretch run.
