Four overtimes, one redemption: South Carolina State claims HBCU national championship

After four exhausting overtimes, countless swings of momentum and one final, breath-stealing defensive stand, South Carolina State outlasted Prairie View A&M 40-38 on Saturday afternoon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium to claim the Celebration Bowl and the HBCU national championship.

“It’s been a journey,” Bulldogs head coach Chennis Berry said after Saturday’s win. “I’m very demanding of our coaches, never demeaning, but demanding, because I know what the expectations are in our program. … A lot of people in this room probably didn’t believe in us.

“ … You guys may have picked us to win it this year, but you really didn’t because we returned one starter on offense and two on defense. … It’s like, I’m still dreaming. Man, but I know this is what God has for us. When God is for you. Nobody can be against you.”

The victory secured the Bulldogs’ second Celebration Bowl title in program history and delivered a measure of redemption for Berry, now in his second season at South Carolina State. A year earlier, the Bulldogs unraveled on the same stage, falling 28-7 to SWAC champion Jackson State. For much of Saturday’s game, history appeared ready to repeat itself. Prairie View carried a 21-0 lead into halftime, and the Panthers seemed firmly in control.

But this time, the script changed. What followed after halftime was not another collapse, but a slow-burning surge built on resolve, belief and resilience, a layered comeback that turned struggle into triumph and left SCSU standing alone atop the HBCU landscape.

For the Bulldogs, the turnaround did not begin with a fiery speech. Berry, known for his supercharged motivational addresses, kept it simple in the locker room. He spoke briefly, asking only for total commitment, every ounce of energy his players could give.

“We just told each other, put your body on the line for this game,” said Bulldogs defensive back and Celebration Bowl defensive MVP Brenyen Scott after Saturday’s victory. “You never know if you could have tomorrow. You never know if you can have next season.”

That mindset carried South Carolina State through one of the most dramatic second halves in Celebration Bowl history. The Bulldogs, who entered the game 5-0 this season in contests decided by one score or fewer, began chipping away at Prairie View’s 21-0 halftime lead with a relentless third-quarter surge.

South Carolina State scored 21 unanswered points in the period, fueled by a pivotal turnover deep in Prairie View territory when Panthers running back Chase Bingmon lost the ball near his own end zone. The Bulldogs capitalized on the short field with a touchdown on the ensuing possession, one of two scores in the quarter by Jordan Smith.

By the time regulation ended, South Carolina State had outscored Prairie View 35-14 after halftime, but the Bulldogs still had to earn their second HBCU national title in overtime.

Both teams traded field goals in the first extra period. Prairie View’s Diego Alfaro connected from 29 yards, only to see Nico Cavanillas Alti answer with a dramatic 40-yarder to tie the game at 38-all.

The second overtime brought another swing of emotion when Bulldogs defensive back Cornelius Davis intercepted quarterback Ryan Stubblefield’s pass — his first interception of the season — giving SCSU an opportunity to end it. Instead, Alfaro pushed a 31-yard attempt wide right, extending the game.

Neither team could convert a two-point attempt in the third overtime, setting the stage for a fourth overtime. The Bulldogs struck first when Stubblefield delivered a pass to Tyler Smith on a play that drew immediate controversy. After review, the catch stood, with Smith stretching the ball just inside the orange pylon for the decisive two-point conversion.

Prairie View had one final chance. Panthers quarterback Cameron Peters, who finished 24 of 36 for a Celebration Bowl-record 412 yards and four touchdowns, surpassing North Carolina A&T’s Kylil Carter’s 2019 mark (364 yards), dropped back one last time. His pass fell incomplete.

In that moment, the Bulldogs’ comeback was complete, the redemption secured and South Carolina State’s mission fulfilled, a championship earned.

“ (Last year), I stood right by our locker room outside, still in the stadium, and I watched confetti drop on another team, and that fueled me,” Berry said. “I said, ‘if the good Lord gives me another opportunity, that confetti will not drop on another team. That confetti is going to drop on us (Bulldogs),’ and that motivated us.

“We always start our season, when you look at last year’s PowerPoint presentation, it had Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But nothing else was on it. This year, it had Mercedes-Benz Stadium, all right, but it had that trophy next to it. … Speak what you seek until you see what you say. We knew what we would be here, but we wanted to walk away this time with a trophy in hand. … We did just that.”

Before halftime, the game belonged entirely to Prairie View A&M, building a 21-0 lead and leaving South Carolina State searching for answers. Cameron Peters led one of the game’s defining first-half drives late in the second quarter, guiding an 11-play, 95-yard drive that ended with him delivering a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jyzaiah Rockwell, a fitting exclamation point on a half in which Prairie View controlled every phase of the game.

The Panthers’ defense set the tone early and never relented, smothering South Carolina State’s offense and limiting the Bulldogs to just 80 yards of total offense in the first half. South Carolina State managed only six first downs and converted just 4-of-9 third-down attempts, despite narrowly winning the time-of-possession battle. Bulldogs signal-caller William Atkins completed 7-of-9 passes for 45 yards before a hand injury forced him out before the Bulldogs’ final drive of the half, sending backup Stubblefield into the game.

Nothing came easily for South Carolina State. The Bulldogs punted on five of their first-half possessions and consistently worked with short fields, averaging a starting position at their own 27-yard line.

The Panthers seized momentum early in the second quarter. Beginning a drive at its own 15-yard line, Prairie View marched steadily downfield before Peters kept the ball on a designed run, bursting through the middle of the defense and sprinting 27 yards to the end zone for the Panthers’ second touchdown.

Prairie View’s offensive rhythm had been established even earlier. After Diego Alfaro missed a field goal on the Panthers’ second possession, the Panthers responded with a sharp six-play, 69-yard drive. Peters connected with Jeremiah Ratliff for 17 yards, then delivered a 38-yard strike to Andre Dennis to move the ball to the Bulldogs’ 16.