RedHawks' rally helps bury Bucs

OXFORD, Ohio — Charleston Southern led most of the way behind the arm of quarterback Tribble Reese, but even his four touchdown passes weren't enough as Miami (Ohio) scored the final 21 points for a 38-27 victory Saturday afternoon.

The RedHawks (1-2) were trailing 27-17 with 4:45 left in the third quarter when Eugene Harris returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Armand Robinson caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Raudabaugh for the go-ahead score, and Thomas Merriweather scored on a 1-yard run — his third touchdown of the day — with just over 4 minutes left.

Reese completed 26 of 39 passes for 257 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions for Charleston Southern (0-3). His scoring passes covered 12 and 11 yards to Gerald Stevenson, and 9 and 11 yards to Clayton Coffman.

"We knew it would take our best effort for all four quarters if we were going to be successful in this game," Charleston Southern coach Jay Mills said. "We know we have a very good football team, despite our 0-3 record. Miami has a good team as well, and you can see why they were picked to win the MAC going into the season."

The Bucs' Stevenson finished with 37 yards on six runs and four receptions for 41 yards. Antwan Ivey continued to get the bulk of the carries with nine for 23 yards.

Andrew McKain had his best game, leading the way with eight tackles, including five solo stops. Chris Kuzdale also had five solo stops, as well as a forced fumble that he also recovered.

"I am very proud of the effort of this team, in all three phases," Mills said. "They played very hard and I am very optimistic about the future."

The Bucs tried to grab the momentum early with a successful onside kick to start the game, but a three-and-out gave the ball over to the RedHawks.

"A play like that is a calculated risk, and we were honestly just trying to steal an extra possession," said Mills. "We have a lot of respect for Raudabaugh and the Miami offense, so we felt like we could use that extra set of downs."

After forcing a Miami punt, CSU put together an 11-play, 64-yard drive for the game's opening score. Reese found Coffman, the tight end, wide open in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown.

The Bucs took advantage of a RedHawks turnover in the third quarter. After Okeba Rollinson's fumble recovery, CSU went 64 yards in six plays, with Reese's 11-yard TD pass to Coffman giving the Bucs a 27-17 lead.

The RedHawks cut the lead to three with Harris' punt return for a TD late in the third quarter, and Miami took control in the final 15 minutes.

Ben Bennett intercepted a CSU pass at the goal line and returned it 78 yards to set up the go-ahead score, an 18-yard pass from Raudabaugh to Robinson.

The Bucs have a bye week before their first home game of the season Sept. 27 against North Greenville.