Atkins throws 4 TDs, Smith catches 2 in South Carolina State's 51-20 rout over Norfolk State
William Atkins IV threw four touchdown passes, Jordan Smith caught two of them, and South Carolina State routed Norfolk State 51-20 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — William Atkins IV threw four touchdown passes, Jordan Smith caught two of them, and South Carolina State routed Norfolk State 51-20 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Saturday.
Atkins found Smith on a 75-yard strike to put the Bulldogs up 24-7 in the second quarter. Atkins connected with him less than four minutes later on a 36-yard touchdown with 1:07 left in the half.
It’s only the second time in Smith’s career he’s caught two touchdown passes and crossed the 100-yard threshold. Both performances came against Norfolk State, the first in November of 2022.
Atkins was 24 of 36 for 428 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs, for South Carolina State (5-3). He also had an interception midway through the fourth.
Norfolk State (1-7) opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown from Otto Kuhns to JJ Evans, but Mason Pickett-Hicks gave the Bulldogs (5-3, 1-0) a lead they never relinquished with a 3-yard rush early in the second quarter.
Kuhns was 10 of 18 for 230 yards with three touchdowns, including a 66-yarder to Xzavion Evans late in the second quarter, and two to JJ Evans.
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