WILSON, N.C – The Erskine College football team (1-0) began its 2021 season with a 30-28 road victory at Barton College (0-1) on Saturday afternoon in the Fleet's first game in seventy years.
 
THE BASICS
Final | Erskine 30, Barton 28
Records | Erskine 1-0, Barton 0-1
Location | Wilson, N.C. (Electric Supply Company Field at Truist Stadium)
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Erskine QB Craig Pender went 23-32 for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Fleet outgained the Bulldogs through the air 285 to 194.
• Barton outgained Erskine on the ground 143 to 71 as the Fleet were paced by 47 yards on 14 carries by Latrell Walker.
• Senika McKie (10 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD) and Javian Bellamy (7 catches, 98 yards, 1 TD) led the way for the Fleet receiving core.
• Brandon Lane totaled a team-high 13 tackles including one that induced an Erskine safety in the first quarter.
• Jamal Barron added five tackles and forced the only turnover of the game, recovering a Barton fumble in the third quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter:
Erskine's first football game in its first game in seven decades got off to a less than convincing start as the hosts, Barton, scored on their first play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead inside the first 30 seconds of the game. The Bulldogs then recovered what was an accidental onside on the ensuing kickoff. But the Fleet forced a three-and-out and the Erskine offense got the ball for the first time. Led by QB Craig Pender, the Fleet moved the ball into Barton territory, but the drive stalled, and Erskine was forced to punt. A good punt from Bennett Caldwell pinned Barton inside their own five, and the Fleet capitalized as Brandon Lane tackled the Bulldogs QB in the endzone for an Erskine safety. On the following drive, Pender found Javian Bellamy for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Fleet their first lead, 9-7.
 
Second Quarter:
Both defenses stood tall in the opening stages of the second quarter until Barton finally broke through with a touchdown to retake the lead at 14-9 with 5:45 remaining in the half. Erskine had a pair of drives to answer back, but the Bulldogs took a five-point lead into the halftime break.
 
Third Quarter:
The Fleet opened the second half with a 10 play drive but were turned away on a 4^th down attempt in the Barton redzone as the Bulldogs maintained their five-point lead. The Erskine defense forced another three-and-out on the ensuing possession to give the Fleet the ball right back. This time, Erskine cashed in the opportunity as a Pender three-yard touchdown to Dylan Shiflett gave the Fleet a 16-14 lead with a 8:46 to go in the quarter. That was all the scoring in the third quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter:
But the Fleet were driving to begin the final 15 minutes of their season opener. Rashad Luckey converted a crucial fourth and two and capped off the drive with a three-yard score to extend the Erskine lead to 23-14 with 12:28 to go. But, Barton responded almost immediately with a two-play drive ending in a touchdown to get the Bulldogs back within two. On the following possession, Erskine had a fourth and 13 on the Barton 26-yard line and elected to go for it. Pender found Senika McKie for a touchdown as the Fleet answered back to go up 30-21 with 8:47 remaining. Both teams exchanged scoreless drives and Barton took over down by nine with 2:27 to go in the game. The Bulldogs went 52 yards and scored a touchdown in less than minute to make it a 30-28 game. With just 1:28 to go and no timeouts, Barton elected to go for an onside kick, but the Fleet's X'Avier Allen recovered it to seal a 30-28 win in Erskine's first game in 70 years.

Hear from Head Coach Shap Boyd after the Fleet's historic victory:
https://twitter.com/FleetFB/status/1365803460172476419

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Fleet's historic 2021 season continues with a road game against Edward Waters College (0-1) next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
 
Follow the Flying Fleet all season long to get schedule updates, scores, highlights, photo galleries, game notes and more at www.erskinesports.com.
 
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