LEXINGTON, Va. - The Charleston Southern Buccaneers earned their first Big South win of 2009 as they defeated the VMI Keydets 31-21 in a Big South Conference football contest played Saturday afternoon at VMI's Foster Stadium in Lexington, Va.

After a contest that featured three ties and multiple lead changes, CSU took command in the fourth quarter. An early field goal gave them the lead for good, and a VMI turnover led to a 12-yard touchdown run by B.J. Hackworth that accounted for the final margin.

With the win, Charleston Southern moves to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big South, while VMI falls to 2-6 and 1-4 in conference action. The Bucs' victory is their fourth-consecutive win over the Keydets, and the visitors won despite allowing 335 rushing yards to VMI, including 160 to Howard Abegesah. CSU quarterback A.J. Toscano was 19-of-24 for 193 yards, and completed passes to eight different receivers as the Bucs earned their first Big South win of the season.

The Bucs mounted a 10-play drive to start the game, but could only move the ball 33 yards and turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on fourth-and-one from the Keydet 33. VMI then took over, and after one play, Kyle Hughes scampered 66 yards around the left end for a touchdown. Jeff Sexton's extra point put the Keydets up 7-0 with 5:30 gone by in the opening quarter.

The visiting team made a statement on the next drive, as after starting at their own 10, the Bucs mounted a 13-play, 90-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown run by Toscano. After the extra point, the score was tied, 7-7 with 3:31 remaining in the first period.

VMI had possession as the second quarter began, and quickly went three-and-out. Marc Ray nailed a punt to midfield, and the Bucs' Antwan Ivey brought it back 50 yards for a touchdown. The point after gave Charleston Southern its first lead of the day, 14-7. The Keydets answered with a six-play, 80-yard drive that took place entirely on the ground, and ended with three consecutive Abegesah runs. A 46-yard dash down the home sideline ended the push, as the senior running back found the endzone with 10:57 left in the half. Sexton added the extra point to square the contest, 14-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Bucs' special teams once again mounted a large return. Antwain Harvey ran Tyler Tucker's kick back 50 yards, and the visiting team took over at the VMI 36. It went for naught, as Toscano fumbled when hit by Josh Wine. Juan Thrasher recovered for the Keydets, and VMI took over at its own 17 and began a 10-play, 74-yard drive.

The Keydets' push chewed up more than five minutes on the clock, with a 29-yard Abegesah run being the key play as VMI drove to the CSU nine. From that yard marker, Michael Rainey-Wiles took the ball around the right side. He was hit at the Bucs' nine-yard line and fumbled, with the ball popping up in the air. CSU's Matt Bach grabbed it out of the air and returned it to the VMI 48, and the Bucs took advantage with a nine-play, 52-yard drive that ended in a touchdown run by Ivey with just 28 seconds left on the clock. The extra point was good, and CSU took a 21-14 lead into the locker room.

VMI had one of its best rushing efforts of the season in the opening half, running for 251 yards, including 125 by Abegesah. The team outgained Charleston Southern 268-178 despite losing the time of possession battle by five full minutes.

The second half was scoreless until the 4:14 mark of the third quarter, when a Howard Abegesah six-yard touchdown run, his second of the day, ended a nine-play, 73-yard drive. The key play of the drive was a 35-yard pass from Hughes to Rainey-Wiles. Sexton's point after knotted the score at 21.

On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Bucs' kicker John Paglia was wide right on a 33-yard field goal attempt and the game remained tied at 21. The Keydets went three-and out, and CSU marched down the field once again to give Paglia another chance. This time, the junior converted an 18-yard field goal to give the visitors a 24-21 lead with 6:10 to play.

The Keydets ran two plays on the next drive before turning the ball over, as Hughes was picked off under heavy pressure from the CSU defense. Andrew McKain picked off the VMI quarterback, and two plays later, Hackworth found the endzone from 12 yards out, putting CSU up 31-21 with just under five minutes to go. VMI got the ball at the back well inside its own territory, but four consecutive running plays failed to lead to a first down and the Keydets never threatened again.

Defensively, VMI was led by Byron Allen with 11 tackles, while A.J. Gross added 10 for the Keydets. Fred Godfrey and Chris Patrick each had nine stops for CSU, while McKain had eight tackles to go with the day's lone interception.

VMI football returns to action next Saturday, as the Keydets head across the Blue Ridge Mountains to take on Liberty in a Big South matchup. Game time at Williams Stadium is set for 7 p.m., and the contest is scheduled to be televised on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).

Quotes - VMI Head Coach Sparky Woods

"Congratulations to Coach Mills and Charleston Southern. They had two disappointing weeks and they came up here and beat us at home. They made more plays and took care of the ball better than we did. Credit them."

"I was disappointed in our special teams. We had been pretty good at that throughout the year, but we started with a blocked punt and then let them return a punt back for a touchdown. We just weren't as good in coverage. They have good return guys, but we made some errors - we kicked the ball out-of-bounds on a kickoff which put the ball at the 40-yard line which makes it hard to win."

"A big play that sticks in my mind is we the ball down there and we're ready to go up a score and we turn it over. Not only do they take the ball away from us, but they take it and run down the field before we get a tackle. I thought our guys prepared hard all week. I thought we would play better than we did.Credit CSU for making some plays. They beat us in the short game, taking a five yard pass and getting an eight-yard gain and they just kept the sticks moving."