NCAA Football Recap (So Carolina St-Southern)
Posted: Sat December 27, 1997 at 9:35 p.m. EST
SOUTHERN 34, SO CAROLINA ST 28
Jermaine West rushed for three touchdowns and Steve Wofford
carried 26 times for a Heritage Bowl-record 164 yards as
Southern University defeated South Carolina State, 34-28, at the
Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
West's one-yard plunge with 7:29 left capped the scoring and
helped Southern (11-1) erase an eight-point fourth-quarter
deficit. West had just 12 yards on six carries.
Marcus Jacoby set up the game-winner with a 50-yard pass to
Brian Turner to the Bulldogs 8. Jacoby also connected with John
Foreman on a 25-yard touchdown 5:33 into the second half, giving
the Jaguars a 12-8 lead.
Wofford, who was ninth in Division I-AA with 127 rushing yards
per game, gave South Carolina State a chance to take the lead
when he fumbled near midfield late in the fourth quarter. But
the Bulldogs were unable to convert.
Southern, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, is
3-1 in the Heritage Bowl since 1993 and played in Atlanta for
the third straight season. The Jaguars avenged their 11-0 loss
to the Bulldogs in the 1993 game and improved to 4-2 all-time
against South Carolina State.
Freshman Chad Eaddy rushed for 107 yards and had touchdown runs
of nine and 40 yards for the Bulldogs (9-3), champions of the
Mideastern Athletic Conference, who fell to 4-6 in bowl games.
The SWAC and the MEAC are conferences that are comprised of
predominantly black schools, making this game the unofficial
championship among African-American institutions. It is known
as the black college super bowl.
Jacoby, who is white, finished 11-of-20 for 155 yards with one
interception.
South Carolina State quarterback Reggie Curry sprinted 40 yards
for a touchdown 17 seconds into the fourth quarter, giving the
Bulldogs a 28-20 lead, but Southern's Terrance Blackwell
returned the ensuing kickoff a Heritage Bowl-record 98 yards for
a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and South Carolina
State held a 28-26 advantage 36 seconds into the period.
West opened the scoring with a three-yard run 4:39 into the
first quarter and later gave the Jaguars a 20-15 lead with
another three-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion 3:48
into the second period.
Curry finished with 72 rushing yards for the Jaguars, who
committed 19 penalties for 151 yards. The teams combined for
seven turnovers.
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