It was a South Carolina State football school record which snuck up on everyone, save for the coaching staff.

Heading into last week’s game against Morgan State, one of the coaches informed Blake Erickson he was closing in on Cedric Oglesby’s 11-year old single-record school record for most field goals in a season. With three field goals in the 37-13 victory, Erickson became the new recordholder with 12 field goals made this season.

“I knew when I kicked the (third) one, then I had passed (the record),” Erickson said.

What is surprising for the Pensacola, Fla., native is how many kicking opportunities he’s received since arriving at S.C. State. Playing a position mired in inconsistency and a high personnel turnover during head coach Oliver ‘Buddy’ Pough’s tenure, Erickson has brought stability in making 15-20 field goals the past two seasons and is a near-perfect 40-41 in extra points this season.

His 76 points leads the MEAC in both scoring overall and kicking and he’s currently tied with Florida A&M’s Trevor Scott for most field goals made. He’s also already earned a MEAC Special Teams Player of the Week award.

“This guy’s been as good as anyone I’ve seen around here and as good as I’ve seen anywhere pretty much,” Pough said. “He’s 12-15 and he’s pretty consistent.”

A three-sport letterman at J.M. Tate High School in Cantonment, Fla., Erickson gained the attention of the Bulldogs after receiving word from longtime kicking academy director Carol White. Helping to further acquaint Erickson’s mother with the school was a co-worker and the sister of former Bulldog All-MEAC defensive lineman Lance Bonner.

“Actually it was a long process,” Erickson said. “I didn’t get recruited by State until a week before signing day.”

On signing day in 2008, Erickson was the last incoming Bulldog freshman player to submit his letter of intent.

After being limited to five field goal attempts as a freshman, Erickson’s leg has especially gotten the workout the past six weeks since he also took over the punting duties from Leigh Manley following the loss to the University of South Carolina. Although his average of 35.3 yards per kick is ranked last in the MEAC, eight of his 20 attempts have either gone for touchbacks or landed inside the 20-yard line.

“I handled both duties in high school too, so I kind of expected to try to do that eventually and it just happened earlier than expected,” Erickson said.

Ironically, Pough believes using Erickson at punter has somewhat hurt his kicking technique. At the same time, he’s very much encouraged by the increased scoring opportunities provided by Erickson once they’re able to bring Manley back into the punting duties.

“I’m excited by the fact that we can make points from anywhere from within 40-45 yards and we can do all other things to keep people from beating us up on special teams,” Pough said.

Last go-round for the seniors

Thursday marked the final regular-season practice for 21 Bulldog seniors. At the end of practice, Pough recognized the graduating players for their contributions to the program, especially the four-year players like running back Will Ford and wide receivers Oliver “Tre” Young and Terrance Smith, who’ve taken part in 33 victories heading into Saturday.

Smith closed practice in memorable fashion. Playing at defensive back, he picked off two potential touchdown passes by quarterback Malcolm Long during the two-minute drill exercises.

All 21 seniors and a student-athlete will be recognized prior to Saturday’s kickoff.

Selection show viewing

The S.C. State players will gather in the State Room located inside the Andrew Hugine Suites to watch the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff brackets unveiled Sunday live on television.

ESPNews (Channel 147 on Digital Time Warner Cable, Channel 800 on The Dish Network and Channel 207 on DirecTV) will air the selection show.

Tickets still available

There will be a special discount general admission ticket price of $15 each for groups who purchase 10 or more tickets for Saturday’s game against North Carolina A&T.

Students 17 and under and college students with ID can also purchase general admission tickets for $15. Regular general admission prices are $25 and $30 for reserved seats.

The S.C. State Ticket Office will be open until 7 p.m. tonight. For more information, call (803) 536-8579.

T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Read his blog, Following the Bulldogs, and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

 

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