Dogs' MEAC win streak reaches 17

WASHINGTON -- Even when things went wrong, they turned out just fine for South Carolina State on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Howard University.

On the game's first play from scrimmage, the Bulldogs fumbled, only to recover the ball and then go on an 11-play drive that ended with a 44-yard field goal by Blake Erickson for a 3-0 lead.

Howard drove right back, but quarterback Floyd Haigler was picked off by strong safety Markee Hamlin in the end zone. The Bulldogs then went 80 yards for a score, as Terrance Smith caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Malcolm Long to make it 10-0.

The high-powered S.C. State offense never relented en route to a 43-13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win before 5,081 fans. The Bulldogs (8-1, 6-0 MEAC), ranked No. 10 in the Sports Network FCS poll, won their 17th straight league contest and closed in on the regular season conference title.

"In the first half we were pretty consistent on offense. We have to come in and stay focused. You can't sleep on a team like Howard," said Long, who was 21 of 33 passing for 180 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions as seven different Bulldogs caught a pass.

Long had TD passes of 14 and 6 yards to Chris Massey in addition to the strike to Smith.

"He uses his weapons well," S.C. State coach Buddy Pough said of Long. "He is a guy that can throw the football and has a lot of weapons."

Massey, just minutes after his first touchdown reception, blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety as S.C. State took a 19-3 lead with 7:55 left in the second quarter.

"They double-teamed the man beside me," said Massey, who was able to slip through the Howard line for the block.

Erickson made a 28-yard field goal with 5:31 left in the first half to make it 22-3. A field goal by Howard as the first half ended made it 22-6. Howard (2-7, 0-6) has lost 17 straight games in the conference under third-year head coach Carey Bailey.

Haigler also threw an interception early in the third quarter, as defensive end Arnett James stepped in front of a short pass in the middle of the field and returned it 13 yards to the Howard 28. That led to 6-yard TD pass from Long to Massey with 4:14 left in the third quarter to make it 29-6.

Senior defensive back Phillip Adams got a deflected pass for an interception and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 36-6 lead with 8:58 left in the game.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Derrick Wiley took over for Long midway through the fourth quarter, and on his second play, he handed off to William Ford, who went 61 yards for a TD for a 43-6 lead.

Howard's Haigler threw a 38-yard scoring strike to Willie Carter with 2:45 left in the game for the final margin.

S.C. State entered the game averaging 150.8 yards per contest on the ground and 208.6 in the air. The Bulldogs gained 180 on the ground and 195 in the air against Howard.

"It was an all or nothing affair," Pough said. "The last thing you want is to have the streak broken by a team going in the other direction."

Pough was not happy with third-down conversions, though his team was nine of 15 on such plays.

"We could have done better but we still got the win. We did not play our best," Massey said.

The Bulldogs will host Morgan State on Nov. 14.