ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Bethune-Cookman Football scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as the Wildcats fell 55-41 on the road to South Carolina State Saturday evening at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
 
After falling behind 27-0 in the second quarter, Bethune-Cookman (0-3) turned to redshirt senior quarterback Cam'Ron Ransom off the bench, as the Lakeland, Florida native engineered the Wildcats' first touchdown of the season on the strength of a 17-play drive that spanned 75 yards taking 8:24 off the clock. Ransom's pass was complete to Rickie Shaw II down to the two yard line, before Ransom then took it in himself for the score.
 
The extra point from Juan Dominguez made it 27-6.
 
The Wildcats chipped away at the lead on the other side of halftime after a couple of completions to Shaw from Ransom advanced the Cats inside the South Carolina State 20 yard line on the first possession of the second half for B-CU. Ransom then connected with Myles Morales down the middle for a 19-yard scoring strike. However, the PAT from Dominguez was missed, and the score stood at 27-13.
 
South Carolina State (2-1) responded to the Wildcats score with a nine-play, 67-yard drive capped off by quarterback Ryan Stubblefield's 13-yard touchdown run around the left side to push his side's advantage back to 34-13 with under 7:50 remaining in the third quarter.
 
A controversial call occurred on B-CU's ensuing possession as Ransom helped orchestrate the offense back down the field, but was ruled to have fumbled the ball into the end zone for a touchback after appearing to be down before the ball came out of his hands. The replay confirmed the call, and S.C. State wasted little time capitalizing on the Wildcats second big mistake of the game, as Stubblefield drove the Bulldogs down the field 80 yards in seven plays using short passes to Jordan Smith and Deyandre Ruffin. The Bulldogs eventually scored the touchdown via a Stubblefield to Smith connection to make it 41-13 following the Elliot Janish extra point.
 
Bethune-Cookman answered in just three plays when Ransom linked up with Maleek Huggins for a 52-yard scoring strike through the air, and bringing the Cats to within 41-20 early-on in the final period.
 
The first three-and-out for the Wildcats defense in the second half allowed the Maroon and Gold march back down the field with Ransom rushing up the middle on a quarterback keeper for the score. Following the PAT, B-CU trailed 41-27 with 9:01 remaining.
 
Three plays later, the Bulldogs' Mason Pickett-Hicks escaped the secondary and broke free for a 69-yard rushing score to vault the SCSU lead up to 48-27.
 
Once again, B-CU would respond when Lorenzo Jenkins hauled in a Ransom pass over the shoulder in the back of the end zone for the score. That made it 48-34.
 
After SCSU added another late score, the Wildcats added one more touchdown – their fourth of the fourth stanza alone, courtesy Ransom's pass to Huggins for 35 yards, producing the final 55-41 score line.
 
South Carolina State opened the game scoring 24 opening quarter points.
 
Already leading 14-0, the Bulldogs defense forced a fumble of B-CU starting quarterback Timmy McClain as Harp scooped up the fumble and returned it four yards for the score, putting SCSU up 21-0 with less than five minutes remaining in the opening period.
 
South Carolina State's Stubblefield finished the night 21-for-35 passing for 286 yards and a touchdown. He would add two rushing touchdowns and 31 yards on the ground. Smith finished with nine receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown of his own. The Bulldogs defense was headlined by Roderick Kelly with 10 tackles.
 
Bethune-Cookman's offense used a 20 of 30 passing performance from Ransom, finishing the night with a game-high 302 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He added 89 yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns. Receivers Huggins (8 rec., 148 yds) and Shaw (4 rec., 50 yds) led the team in receiving yards. The defense was sparked by Antwone Watts with seven tackles and a pass breakup.
 
The Wildcats host Edward Waters for their home opener Saturday, Sept. 20, at 3 p.m. The game will coincide with Hall of Fame weekend and Welcome Dr. Mosley Day.
 
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