Seventeen points up by halftime, and still it came down to a final stand. On a crisp Thursday night in Orangeburg, South Carolina, South Carolina State knocked off No. 19 North Carolina Central 24-21 at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on Willie Jeffries Field, snapping the Eagles’ five-game win streak and reshaping the MEAC title chase.
Quarterback Eric Phoenix delivered the kind of night that turns a season. He completed 26 of 36 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns, ran 13 times for 60 yards and another score, and became the only player in the MEAC this year to post four straight 300-yard passing games. He didn’t do it alone. Wideout Caden High, in rhythm for a second straight week, hauled in eight catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Together they pushed the Bulldogs to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference, while North Carolina Central fell to 6-3 and 2-1.
How South Carolina State seized control
The Bulldogs started with purpose and patience. Their opening series chewed more than six minutes and stretched 85 yards over 10 plays, ending with a calm 20-yard field goal from Kyle Gallegos. The defense followed with a quick three-and-out. Momentum in hand, Phoenix guided another march—11 plays, 81 yards—capping it with an 8-yard strike to High for a 10-0 lead with 1:40 left in the first quarter.
Everything about the early script favored South Carolina State: a balanced plan, clean execution on third down, and no giveaways. The offensive line kept Phoenix steady in the pocket, and when the Eagles finally tightened coverage, Phoenix used his legs. With 32 seconds left in the half, he slipped through traffic for an 11-yard touchdown run that sent the Bulldogs into the locker room up 17-0.
North Carolina Central’s blueprint flipped in the second half. Quarterback Walker Harris and coordinator Matt Leone (scheme-wise) pushed the tempo and took the top off the coverage. Harris found Markell Quick for a 51-yard touchdown with 12:31 to play, a jolt the Eagles badly needed. Just 86 seconds later, Harris hit Chauncey Spikes near the South Carolina State 45, and Spikes did the rest for a 66-yard score. In a blink, the lead was down to three.
The Bulldogs had an answer before the walls closed in. Phoenix kept trusting his matchups, and High kept winning them. South Carolina State’s final scoring drive—highlighted by timing routes and a couple of tough runs from reserve back Tyler Smith—restored a two-score cushion before the late onslaught. Smith’s seven carries for 38 yards mattered most in those clock-bleeding moments. Tight end Keshawn Toney also showed up in key downs, boxing out defenders to keep drives alive.
From there, it was the defense’s turn. After yielding those two home-run shots, the Bulldogs tightened the back end and tackled in space. The pass rush didn’t always get home, but it sped up Harris enough to force throws to the sideline and into tighter windows. On the night’s final possessions, South Carolina State’s linebackers closed seams and the secondary played through the hands—no flags, no freebies, just contested football.
This game also had a personal layer for the men running it. Bulldogs coach Chennis Berry and Eagles coach Trei Oliver are friends and former colleagues. You could feel the chess match—formation changes, shifts to isolate matchups, delayed pressures—each trying to nudge the other off script. Berry’s group controlled the first half. Oliver’s team counterpunched hard in the fourth. The difference was South Carolina State’s ability to finish drives early and then finish tackles late.
What it means for the MEAC race
At 6-2 and 2-0, South Carolina State has control of its path to the league crown and a spot in the 2024 Celebration Bowl. Win the ones in front of them, and the Bulldogs won’t need help. It’s that simple now. The victory was their fifth straight, a run built on clean offense, fewer negative plays, and a quarterback who has gone from steady to dangerous in a month.
North Carolina Central still has plenty to play for. The Eagles entered the night ranked 19th nationally and 21st in the coaches poll, having outscored Elon and North Carolina 86-29 in back-to-back wins. They showed why in the fourth quarter—speed on the perimeter, a quarterback who can push the ball downfield, and skill guys who can turn a routine catch into six. One conference loss doesn’t close the door, but it does shrink the margin.
Phoenix’s progression is the headline: four straight 300-yard games in this league is rare air, and he’s doing it with efficiency, not just volume. His chemistry with High is obvious—they trust the timing throws near the goal line and have the spacing down on crossers and digs. Add Toney as a reliable chain-mover and Smith as a change-of-pace runner, and the Bulldogs have multiple answers when opponents shade coverage or bring pressure.
Defensively, South Carolina State will point to the film and see both the warning and the win. The warning: two explosive touchdowns in the fourth that turned a cruise into a fight. The win: when it mattered, the corners and safeties rallied and finished. That’s life against a ranked opponent with track speed—you bend when they land punches, and then you get back to fundamentals.
For the MEAC, this felt like a title-shaping night. North Carolina Central’s five-game heater is over. South Carolina State’s surge continues. And the Celebration Bowl conversation just shifted toward Orangeburg, where the Bulldogs’ mix of tempo, balanced play-calling, and late-game resilience looks sustainable.
Key numbers that told the story:
- Eric Phoenix: 26-of-36, 321 yards, 2 TD; 13 rushes, 60 yards, 1 TD
- Caden High: 8 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TD (second straight 100-yard game)
- Kyle Gallegos: 20-yard field goal to open the scoring
- Two late Eagle strikes: 51-yard TD to Markell Quick; 66-yard TD to Chauncey Spikes
- Streaks: Bulldogs win their fifth straight; Eagles’ five-game win streak snapped
The scene in Orangeburg fit the stakes—two rivals, two coaches who know each other’s tells, and a game that swung on who could steal a possession or protect a lead. South Carolina State did both. They set the tone with two long, surgical drives, then found enough in the tank to withstand a furious finish. For a program pushing for December football, that’s the template you want to carry into the stretch run.
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